


Life on the Water

by PandaThePanda



Series: Life on the Water Series [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:02:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 69,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24249232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PandaThePanda/pseuds/PandaThePanda
Summary: A small change can make a big difference in the 100. A rewrite of season one and beyond.When a grounder saves Octavia and offers Clarke peace their first day on the ground, how does it change the way the Arkers see the grounders and how the season progresses.
Relationships: Clarke Griffin & Original Female Character(s), Clarke Griffin & Raven Reyes, Finn Collins/Clarke Griffin, Finn Collins/Raven Reyes, Octavia Blake/Lincoln, Raven Reyes & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Life on the Water Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1750375
Kudos: 11





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is just for me. If you don't like it, don't read it.

"I have called you here for a reason," The commander said in a commanding tone,

"It seems you have, Heda," Madi replied, the other leaders looked at her as if she was the most foolish person in the world, "My question now is, why?" Madi stood up from my clan's chair and walked into the center of the room, the commander watching her the whole way from her throne. "If you have called this meeting in the name of peace you're fooling yourself, we all know peace cannot be achieved well your own people are at war with Azgeda. Both of you clans have forced the rest of us from peace, it should be your war to fight, not mine or my people's," Madi finished, returning to her seat. Most of the other clan leaders agreed with what she had to say, but most of them thought she would lose my head over it.

"You are wrong, it is your war to fight," Queen Nia said, staring Madi dead in the eyes,

"If you truly believe that then get someone else to follow you, my people will remain happy, with peace. I would advise you and your clan stay away from my lands," Madi said directing her gaze towards the commander.

"Trikru will stay away from your lands as long as you don't aline your clan with Azgeda," The commander responded.

"Azgeda will agree to the same thing," Queen Nia said. Madi could see they were both trying to win her favor because the other clan leaders trusted her judgment.

"How many clans wish to stay out of this war?" The commander asked, all the clan leaders but Queen Nia raised their hands.

"It is decided then, Azgeda and Trikru will wage war on each other while the rest of us live in peace," Madi said, standing from her chair and walking to the door of the throne room. All eyes were on her, a gruff hand was placed on her chest, she looked Lexa's guard, and turned her head back towards Lexa, "Don't test me, Lexa," She said and shoved the guard's hand off her chest, leaving the throne room.

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"I should have your head for the way you treated me in there," Lexa said in an angry tone as she walked out onto the balcony,

"But you won't take my head, I am a deeply respected leader and my people are loyal to a fault," Madi responded, letting her eyes wander from the sea to the people of Polis.

"You're right," She said after a short silence,

"What troubles you, commander?" Madi asked, Lexa had a stone-cold look but her eyes... her eyes were betraying her, speaking her secrets.

"We meet a few hours ago and you presume to know that I am troubled," Lexa responded, looking over to Madi.

"It's your eyes, Lexa, and we've known each other for years." Madi let her gaze wander back to the mountains,

"What about my eyes?"

"Your eyes betray you. You try and make everyone think your this heartless commander, but your eyes show your secrets. So I ask again commander, what troubles you," Madi said, looking up to the sky.

"I want to form a coalition, of the 12 clans to fight the Mountain. What you said in there will halt that,"

"Then stop your war, make peace with Azgeda," Madi said, meeting Lexa's eyes.

"You know I can't do that."

"Costia,"

"Yes,"

"There is one way I will agree to your coalition,"

"What?"

"You give EVERY clan the option to join the Coalition,"

"I'll think about it,"

"Then if you will excuse me, Heda, I haven't been to Polis in years," Madi said as she walked off the balcony and into her room.

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Madi stepped onto the ground in Polis and looked out at the beautiful city, "It's amazing isn't it," Roan said from behind her,

"Prince Roan," Madi said as she turned to him with a smirk.

"Madi, it's good to see you again," He replied,

"That it is," Madi said as they gripped each other's arms in a warriors handshake.

"Take me on a tour?" He asked and started walking towards the market, Madi followed him.

"I assume your mother knows I meet with Lexa in private and sent you here to find out why," Madi said,

"They seem to think you're stupid." He replied and stopped at a vendor's stand. Madi chuckled.

"People will think what they want to think. So, you want to know or not," She said, leaning against a table while he picked up a dagger and examined it.

"We are old friends, let us talk like them," He replied and put the dagger down.

"Okay; I hear you have been given command of Azgeda's army," Madi said as they headed towards the stables,

"I have. I hear that you are staying out of this war, to bring your people peace,"

"You hear correctly,"

"So then I assume Lexa tried to get you to back Trikru in this war,"

"No, but I know it's the reason Nia sent you and didn't come herself. I will back nither clan."

"So then what did Lexa want?"

They finally reached the stables Madi placed her hand on a horse's forehead, "Lexa wants peace, as I do,"

"I suppose,"

"Do you think your mother would agree to peace,"

"If she thinks it's what's best for our people,"

Roan handed Madi an apple and she nodded at him, they feed the horses in silence, "I'll tell you what Roan as a show of good faith towards the queen, I invite you to come back with me to Detro." Madi said, turning back towards the commander's tower.

"The commander will not like that," He replied as they walked back towards the tower,

"Then I will invite Indra or her second," Madi replied,

"Last time a gathering where Azgeda and Trikru both attended alone a war broke out."

"If either of you tries anything I will have you both imprisoned for a week before I return you to your people," Madi countered.

"I would expect nothing less," Roan replied.

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"You're doing what!!" Lexa asked with what was clearly an angry tone,

"I have invited Prince Roan Kom Azgeda to Detro, now I invite Indra Kom Trikru to Detro," Madi replied calmly.

"The last time Azgeda and Trikru meat it started a war." She stepped down from her throne walked over to Madi, their faces barely inches apart.

"That was not in my territory," Madi eyes shot daggers into her,

"Yes, what will be so different this time," Lexa said, mocking.

"Mockery is not the product of a smart mind Lexa, but if you think nothing will be different then I invite you, commander, we leave in a week's time." Madi could see the shock and anger in her eyes whilst her face was set in stone. "It's your choice commander. If you think it will all go to shit then why not be there to stop it, and if you have finally decided what you will do about my terms then send a message to my room." Madi left the room with a smirk on her face.

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Madi had been reading for the past few hours when the doors to her room flew open, "What can I do for you commander," She asked, not moving from my position on the couch or putting down the book.

"You have treated me like you treat everyone else, I respect you for that," She replied,

"So did you decide if you want to come to Detro or on my terms on the coalition," Madi asked as she set the book down on her stomach and looked up at Lexa,

"I accept your terms on the coalition and I will be going to Detro with you," Madi looked at Lexa with such curiosity,

"You're an interesting person Lexa, you follow what your head tells you to do, what you think is best for your people, but you are in conflict with yourself, I'm the only one who tells you how it really is. Yet you still think I'm playing an angle." At this point, Madi had gotten up and started towards Lexa. Their faces inches apart, "Let me enlighten you, Lexa, I don't play politics, I don't play angles. And I am certainly not like you or Nia, I tell things how I see them. If you want people to lie to you, go talk to the other clan leaders." She said completely calm.

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"You were right Indra, she is different," Lexa said as she sat down on her throne,

"You need to take her out of power," Indra had her hand on her sword and her eyes were locked with Lexa's,

"Why? Because she questions my decisions, what if that makes me a better leader?" Lexa unsheathed her dagger and started to toy with it,

"Even if it makes you a better leader, it makes you look weak." Indra's eyes narrowed on Lexa,

"We will see,"

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"What do you want, Nia," I asked, fixing her with a deadly glare.

"You invited my son to Detro and you invited the commander to Detro, why haven't you invited me?" Madi wanted to strangle her for even implying she would let Nia near her home or her people.

"Roan is an old friend and I invited the commander because Indra couldn't come. You know damn well why I didn't invite you," Madi replied in a harsh tone.

"No, I don't know why you didn't invite me," Nia replied with a smirk,

"You corrupt people Nia, if you see what you call a weakness you don't hesitate to attack, you play all the angles, you play politics. And someone like that will not be invited into my home or near my people. Now get out." Madi said, pointing to the door.

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A few minutes later Madi walked out the door and turned to the guards "Don't follow me." She turned and walked down the hall to the room of her second. Madi knocked, Sofi answered. "Come on, we're going for a ride," Madi had already started walking away, knowing Sofi would follow.

"What do you mean, where," Sofi caught up quickly, Madi put her hand on Sofi's shoulder.

Sofi was only 12 and had grayish-blue eyes, with brown hair, that was braided in the Podakru fashion as was Madi's. She was progressing to be a great warrior. "I don't know." Madi replied.

"So where are we going," Madi looked at her with an expressionless face

"I wish I could say home, I am done with this city and its politics," Madi rubbed her eyes,

"At least you don't have to live here," A voice from behind them said,

"Adian! How's the commander treating you?" Madi asked. Adian was originally from Podakru before the Flamekeppers took him to train to become the next commander.

"Good, Polis is nice, all the other nightbloods, are treating me well," He replied,

"I would hope so Adian," The commander came up behind them, both Adian and Sofi bowed their heads and said: "Heda," Madi just narrowed her eyes.

"What can I do for you, Lexa," Sofi slapped Madi on the arm, "Really Sofi, alright, to the training grounds. Let's see how much you have progressed," Sofi truly hated Madi at that moment. They walked down to the training grounds with Lexa and Adian following close behind.

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"Madi is probably the best warrior in the clans," Adian said,

"Really?" Lexa asked

"Yeah, I saw her take on 8 Azgeda warriors at once and she came out with barely a scratch, and with all of them dead."

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Sofi walked up to the weapons rack and grabbed a sword, Madi threw her jacket on the table. Sofi groaned "This going to be one of those training sessions,"

"What do you mean?" Lexa asked.

"Madi is going to embarrass the crap out of me," Sofi replied, Madi chuckled,

"Why don't you have a sword?" Lexa asked,

"If I need one I'll take one," Madi said with a smirk.

They bowed to each other and the fight began, Sofi came full force at Madi and swung her sword where my head would have been if I hadn't bent back, I quickly threw my leg towards her knee and clipped the side. She stumbled backward, quickly regaining balance, "Who do we respect?" Madi snapped,

"Everyone," She stated.

"Who do we follow?" The wrong answer to a question earned an attack,

"Those above us, our teachers, mentors, leaders,"

"Exactly. Now please tell me, why do we follow the commander?" Lexa gave a look of confusion.

"Because she was chosen by the conclave, she is a nightblood." Then Lexa had a smirk on her face. Madi smiled and Sofi did too, lowering her guard. Madi struck, hitting the dulled metal blade out of her hand, and ramming her shoulder into Sofi's abdomen, knocking her over. The smiles fell from everyone's faces. Madi knelt down to where Sofi was on the ground.

"Wrong. We follow Lexa kom Trikru because she wants peace, to build a coalition between clans because she has the wisdom of the commander's past. We do not follow someone because of their blood or their ability to fight, we follow them because we believe in them."


	2. Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It has been four years since the prologue. Over the years Lexa and Madi became great friends and Madi had trained Lexa to become a better leader and a better warrior. Now Madi and Sofi were in Trikru territory to make trade deals. On 'the Ark' 100 juveniles convicted of various crimes are sent to the surface to test its habitability. Among them is 17-year-old Clarke Griffin, the daughter of the Ark's chief medical officer and chief engineer.

"What is that?" Sofi said, pointing to a ball of fire hurtling towards the Earth. "Go get Indra." Madi said to Sofi, jumping onto her horse, "Where are you going?!" She asked and Madi pointed to the ball of fire and rode off with two warriors behind her.

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Some kind of door opened from the metal contraption and a young girl started walking down a ramp, she stepped onto the ground "We're back bitches!" She yelled. Everyone in the Dropship streamed out, yelling, whooping, running, laughing. Madi and the guards watched from the trees, "Watch them, I want to know everything that happens in that camp, come to me before going to Indra." Madi said and jumped through the trees to get back to TonDC.

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Clarke stood looking out over the mountains, she looked at the map. "Why so serious, Princess? It's not like we died in a fiery explosion." Finn said, coming up behind her. "Try telling that to the two guys who tried to follow you out of their seats." Clarke replied, looking up again. "You don't like being called Princess, do you, Princess?" Finn said. "Do you see that peak over there?" Clarke asked, pointing to Mt. Weather, "Yeah." Finn replied. "Mount Weather. There's a radiation-soaked forest between us and our next meal. They dropped us on the wrong damn mountain." Clarke said.

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"I'm having my people watch them." Madi said. Madi, Indra, and Sofi stood in the war tent. "I sent a messenger to Lexa." Sofi said, "Good." Indra replied, "Did you tell her to bring armies." Indra said, "Armies? We should try peace." Madi said, "This isn't your clan, Madi, I will proceed how I chose." Indra replied, "You won't do anything until Lexa gets here." Madi replied.

Madi left the tent with Sofi right beside her, a rider came up to them, "What is it?" Madi asked, "The Sky People, a few of them are going towards the Mountain." Her spy said, "We follow them, we watch from the trees." Madi asked, and mounted her horse, riding toward the forest.

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Finn picked a flower and put it in Octavia's hair, "Now that my friend is game." Jasper said, "That, my friend, is poison sumac." Monty replied Octavia ripped the flower out of her hair, "What? It is?" She replied. "The flowers aren't poisonous. They're medicinal, calming, actually." Monty said, twirling one in his hand. "His family grows all the pharmaceuticals on The Ark." Jasper explained. "Hey, guys, would you try to keep up?" Clarke called back at them, "Come on, Clarke. How do you block all this out?" Finn asked, "Well, it's simple. I wonder, 'why haven't we seen any animals?' Maybe it's because there are none. Maybe we've already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us. Sure is pretty, though. Come on." Clarke said. "Someone should slip her some poison sumac." Octavia said. Jasper snorted. "I got to know what you two did to get busted." Finn said to Jasper and Monty. "Sumac is not the only herb in the garden, if you know what I mean." Monty said. "Someone forget to replace what we took." Jasper said, looking at Monty, "Someone has apologized, like, a thousand times." Monty said, "How about you, Octavia? What'd they get you for?" Jasper asked, "Being Born." Octavia said and ran ahead to Clarke. Clarke was bent down, looking at a deer, she waved them over. "No animals, huh." Finn said.

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"Hey, you know what I'd like to know? Why send us down today after ninety-seven years? What changed?" Finn asked as they trekked through the forest. "Who cares? I'm just glad they did. I woke up rotting in a cell, and now I'm spinning in a forest." Octavia said as she spun on a tree. "Maybe they found something on a satellite, you know, like an old weather satellite or it wasn't a satellite." Monty suggested. "The Ark is dying." Clarke said seriously. "At the current population level, there's roughly three months left of life support, maybe four now that we're gone."She continued. "So that was the secret they locked you up to keep, why they kept you in solitary, floated your old man?" Finn said. "My father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought the people had a right to know. The Council disagreed. My mother disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic. We were gonna go public, anyway, when Wells..." Clarke nodded off, "What, turned in your dad?" Monty asked, "Anyway, the guard showed up before we could. That's why today. That's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves more time." Clarke explained. "They're gonna kill more people, aren't they?" Monty asked. "Good. After what they did to me, I say, float them all." Octavia said. "You don't mean that." Jasper said, "We have to warn them." Finn said, "That's what my father said." Clarke said. 

Octavia walked to the edge of a rock and looked in the water. She started undressing. "Oh, damn, I love Earth." Jasper said. "Oh! Holy..." Monty said. "Octavia, what the hell are you doing?" Clarke asked. Octavia jumped into the water. "Octavia! We can't swim." Monty yelled. Octavia was in the water with only her eyes and mouth above it. "I know, but we can stand." Octavia stood up and laughed. "Wait. There's not supposed to be a river here." Clarke said, "Well, there is. So take off your damn clothes." Finn replied. Jasper noticed something in the water. "Oh... Octavia, get out of the water! Get out of the water now!" Jasper yelled. Octavia screamed as a snake-like monster pulled her under the water.

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Madi watched as the water snake dragged Octavia around and her friends stood by, there was nothing they could do. Madi took off her sword and threw it to Sofi. "What are you doing?" Sofi asked, "I'm saving her life." Madi replied. She gripped the dagger and jumped out of the tree.

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"What the hell!" Finn said as a woman came out of the sky and killed the water snake, saving Octavia. She dragged Octavia to the river bank, "Who the hell are you? How are you alive?" Clarke asked. "I will tell you whatever you want to know, but she needs help." The woman said. Clarke tore off a piece of fabric off her shirt and tied it around Octavia's wound. 

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"What do you want to know?" Madi asked as the sat with her hands tied behind her back on the forest floor. "The Earth wasn't supposed to be survivable for the next 100 years, how are you alive?" Clarke asked, "After Primfaya, my people adapted to the harsh conditions, but we weren't united until Becca Primheda came, the first Commander. My people have broken up into 13 different clans that form the Coalition. Ruler by the Commander." Madi explained. "What's Primfaya?" Monty asked, "The fire that ended the world." Madi responded. "The nuclear apocalypse." Clarke said. "Who are you?" She asked, "My name is Madi, I come from Podakru." Madi said, "Whats Podakru?" Octavia asked, "My clan. In Gonasleng it means Lake People." Madi replied. "What is Gonasleng?" Jasper asked, "I suppose you call it English." Madi replied. "We're trying to get to Mount Weather--" Clarke was interrupted, "You can't go there, they'll kill you all." Madi said, "Who?" Jasper asked, "The Mountain Men." Madi said.

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Clarke woke up to the glow of the forest, she walked around, eventually admiring a flower. "Pretty cool, huh?" Finn said, he held out a leaf filled with water. "Did you go to the river?" Clarke asked. "Figured it was worth losing a finger or two. Here." He said and passed the leaf to Clarke, she took a sip, "You call that a sip?" Finn said Clarke took a much longer sip, "Do you think this means we'll all grow two head." Finn asked Clarke laughed. "What do you know? She can laugh." Finn said. 

Madi and Sofi watched their conversation from the tree, "What's going on in the camp?" Madi asked, "There leader has adopted a new motto." Sofi said, "Whatever the hell we want." She said, "That gonna get people killed." Madi sighed, "This, Clarke, I think she's the best bet at peace." Madi said. "I agree," Sofi replied. "I want you guys to meet us, tomorrow, before we get to the camp, bring the bows and arrows." Madi said, Sofi smiled, "You can't keep my sword." Madi said as she hopped down the trees.

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They had been walking for three hours when Clarke stopped them, pointing to a group of people in the distance. Madi kept walking, "What are you doing?!" Clarke whisper yelled, "Come on." Madi said and kept walking. The group had to follow her, Madi dislocated her thumb and slipped out of her restraints, and relocated her thumb, "Sofi, my sword." Madi said, Clarke and Company looked shocked. Madi smiled at them, "We will be escorting you back to your camp." Madi said, mounting a horse. She gestured to the five-horses that were for them. They slowly mounted the horse, having never done it before.

They had been riding for a short time, "Clarke, with me." Madi said and gestured to the open spot next to her. Clarke rid up to her. "Yes?" Clarke asked, "I don't want to go to war, Clarke." Madi said. "Are you the Commander?" Clarke asked, "No." Madi said with a smile. "Just one of her advisors." Madi said, "I don't want war either." Clarke said, "Bellamy, the person who is leading your people, he just created a very dangerous situation." Madi said, worried. "What did he do now?" Clarke asked Madi sighed, "He created a new rule; there are no rules." Madi said, "What?" Clarke asked, "People are going to get killed." Madi said, "But I want to offer you something." Madi said, "What?" Clarke asked, "Tomorrow, there is a clearing 3 miles north of your camp, meet me there is want peace. If you want war, then so be it." Madi said.


	3. Earth Skills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After her conversation with Madi, Clarke and Bellamy discuss peace vs. war and what the grounders want. Meanwhile, on the Ark, Abby is determined to get to Earth and enlists the help of a Zero-G Mechanic, Raven Reyes. Clarke, Bellamy, Wells, Finn, and Murphy set out to find the clearing Madi told them to find if they wanted peace.

Wells walked through the camp after burying the two boys who died on landing. He carrier their clothes. Atom walked up behind him, "Hey, where'd you get the clothes?" He asked. "Buried the two kids who died during the landing." Wells replied. "Smart. You know, I'll take it from here. There's always a market for..." Atom reached for the clothes and Wells pulled them away. "We share based on need, just like back home." Wells said. Bellamy walked out of the dropship, "You still don't get it, do you, Chancellor? This is home now. Your father's rules no longer apply." Bellamy said as he grabbed a shirt. Wells went to go after Bellamy but Atom stopped him. "Oh, no, no, Atom. Atom, hold up." Bellamy said, "You want it back? Take it." Bellamy continued. Wells threw the clothes behind him, "Is this what you want? Chaos?" Wells asked. "What's wrong with a little chaos?" Bellamy countered. Bellamy threw the shirt on when they heard a scream.

Murphy held a girl over the fire, "Bellamy," He said, "Check it out. We want the Ark to think that the ground is killing us, right? Figure it'll look better if we suffer a little bit first." Murphy said. Wells ran over and shoved Murphy off the girl. Wells turned back and looked at Bellamy. "You can stop this." He said, "Stop this? I'm just getting started." Bellamy replied. Murphy came out of nowhere and punched Wells in the face, then the gut. The people around the chanted, "Fight!" Wells threw a punch to Murphy's gut, then his face, Murphy flew back. Murphy tackled Wells to the ground, grabbed his collar, and started punching him. Wells turned Murphy over and punched him in the face. Murphy was stuck on the ground. Wells stood up and turned to Bellamy, "Don't you see you can't control this?" Wells said, Murphy, got up and grabbed his knife, "You're dead." He said. Bellamy stepped between Murphy and Wells, "Wait." He said he threw a knife at Well's feet, "Fair fight." He said. Wells picked up the knife. Murphy took a swipe a Wells, he missed. Wells threw a big overarching strike and Murphy was able to cut open his arm. "This is for my father!" Murphy yelled as he swung at Wells again, Wells grabbed Murphy's arm and twisted him around, he held the knife to Murphy's throat. "Wells!" Clarke yelled, coming out of the forest. "Let him go!" She said. Well's threw Murphy to the ground, he scurried up but Bellamy caught him before he could attack Wells again. "Enough, Murphy." Bellamy said. Monty and Jasper carried a limping Octavia out of the forest. "Octavia, are you alright?" Bellamy asked. "Yeah." Octavia said and Bellamy picked her up and carried her over a log. "Where's the food?" Bellamy asked. "We didn't make it to Mount Weather." Finn said, "What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy asked, "After Octavia was attacked by some kind of snake a woman jumped out of the trees and saved her life, there are people here, on the ground." Clarke said. Whispers could be heard among the group. "Where is your wristband?" Clarke asked, noticing Wells's wrist. "Ask him." Wells said, pointing to Murphy, "How many?" Clarke asked, "24 and counting." Murphy replied. "You idiots. Life support on the Ark is failing. That's why they brought us down here. They need to know the ground is survivable again. If you take off your wristbands, you're killing them." Clarke said, "Don't listen to her. She's one of the privileged. If they come down, she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same? We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm? It makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore! They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say you're not criminals! You're fighters, survivors!" Bellamy reminded them, "What about the grounders!?" A boy from the crowd yelled. "We have been offered peace." Clarke said.

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Clarke sat in the dropship packing stuff for the trip when she heard the door open, "There you are. When my father said they didn't leave us anything, he really meant it." Wells said. Clarke looked at Wells's cut, "It's just a scratch." Wells said, "You're making friends fast. Keep it covered. It could get infected. Nice pack." Clarke said, admiring Wells's backpack. "Yeah, seat belts and insulation," Wells said. "Good. Give it to someone else. You're not coming with us." Clarke said. She started to walk out, dropping down the hatch. "My ankle's fine." Wells said. "It's not your ankle, Wells, it's you." Clarke said. "You came back for reinforcements. I'm gonna help." Wells said, following Clarke down the hatch. "Clarke, he's right. We need him. So far no one else has volunteered." Monty said, "I'm sorry, Monty, but you're not going, either." Clarke said. "Like hell I'm not." Monty responded, "You're too important. You were raised on Farm Station and recruited by engineering." Clarke said, "So?" Monty asked, "So food and communication. What's up here," Clarke said, pointing to Monty head, "It's gonna save us all. You figure out how to talk to the Ark and Jasper will be fine without you." Clarke said. Finn entered the dropship, "Hey, you ready?" Clarke asked, "Yeah." Finn said.

Bellamy pressed a rag to Octavia's wound, she groaned in pain, "What was it?" Bellamy asked, trying to distract her, "The others said it looked like a giant snake, Madi called it a water snake." Octavia explained, "It could have killed you." Bellamy said Clarke came up beside them, "It would have if Madi wasn't there." Clarke said. "You guys leaving, I'm coming too." Octavia said, getting up. "No, no. No way. Not again." Bellamy said, "He's right, your legs just gonna slow us down." Clarke agreed. "I'm here for you." Clarke said to Bellamy. "Clarke, what are you doing?" Wells asked. "I hear you have a gun." Clarke said. Bellamy lifted up his shirt, revealing the gun. "Good. Follow me." Clarke said, "Why would I do that?" Bellamy asked, "Because you want them to follow you, and right now, they're thinking only one of us is scared." Clarke said, walking away. "Murphy. Come with me. Atom? My sister doesn't leave this camp. Is that clear?" Bellamy asked Atom nodded. "I don't need a baby sitter." Octavia said. "Anybody touches her, they answer to me." Bellamy said. 

"I didn't realize we were trying to make peace." Murphy said, walking next to Bellamy on the path. "The Ark thinks the prince is dead. Once they think the princess is, too, they'll never come down. I'm getting that wristband, even if I have to cut off her hand to do it. Peace is an added bonus." Bellamy said.

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Raven had just come in from a spacewalk, taking off her gear immediately. "Damn it, Raven. Wait for pressurization." Red said, "Sorry boys, places to go." Raven said, throwing him the helmet. "Did anyone notice there's no damage to 'B' dock?" Raven asked while taking off her gloves. "'B' dock's restricted. You know that." Red said while helping her out of her gear. "What, are they gonna float me for looking?" Raven asked, taking off her oxygen tank. "Guys, come on. An Exodus ship was launched. You're not curious about that?" Raven asked. Raven started getting out of her main space suit. "It was not launched. It was ejected. According to engineering, a routine maintenance accident forced them to eject." Red explained. "A maintenance accident that didn't cause any damage? That's a lie and you know it." Raven said she peeled out of her spacesuit, "Fine. Well, if that doesn't stir your tank, how about this? Why would they build a dropship in the first place?" Raven asked. She took off her outer layers and left in a bra and underwear. "Just slow down, all right? We need to check your vitals." Red said, "I'll save you the trouble. I feel good." Raven said. Raven put on the necklace of a raven while smiling. "Prison visiting day. Tell lover boy I'll pay him the two days' rations I owe him when he gets out." Trevor said, "It was three days." Raven said. "Hey, stash my gear. I'll come back for it later." Raven said while putting on pants. "Okay, Raven, stop." Red said he sighed, "Lockup's been quarantined. There's some kind of a virus. There's no visitation for at least two months. Sorry." Red said.

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Octavia was sitting and playing games with two boys. "Hey, I saw that. You cheated." Octavia said, throwing a stick at the guy who cheated. Atom walked over to her, "Look... Your brother wasn't kidding about that. He'll hurt them." Atom said, "Come on. We were just talking. You're too hot to be my brother's bitch." Octavia said. "I'm no one's bitch." Atom insisted. "Mmm. Good. Then prove it." Octavia said, she walked over to a random boy "Come with me." She said.

Octavia lead him to the second story of the dropship. He started climbing up the ladder when he was pulled down. Atom came up the ladder. "Nobody's bitch, huh?" Octavia said. Atom sat down on the edge of the latch, "Maybe one of these days you'll realize you can't control me." Octavia said, "You know, that guy you were with? Did you know he was in for murder? You want to know something funny? I'm actually protecting him from you." Atom said, he walked down the ladder and shut the hatch. "Hey, hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?!" Octavia called through the door. "Consider yourself controlled." Atom said back, "Is this all you got? They locked me under the floor for sixteen years just for being born! This is nothing." Octavia yelled back. "Ahem. You want to keep it down? I'm trying to concentrate." Monty said from where he was tinkering with the wristbands.

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Abby and Jackson were in line for rations, "Abby, Kane's lobbying for votes. We should too." Jackson said as Abby got her rations. "We'll have our chance at the briefing." Abby replied. She started walking to a table, "Excuse me! Doctor Griffin!" A voice called out from behind her, " I have a question about the quarantine. My boyfriend's in lockup. I went to go see him." Raven said as Jackson came to stand beside Abby. "Instead, I saw an open-air duct. Now, if there really was a virus, wouldn't you move to contain the airflow?" Raven asked, "The virus isn't airborne. That's why the ducts are open." Abby replied. "Can you tell me if he's okay?" Raven asked, "I can't, I'm sorry." Abby said, and turned to leave, "No, you're not. First the dropship, now this. The council's hiding something, and I'm gonna find out what it is." Raven said before walking away. "Ballsy kid." Jackson said, "Yeah. Reminds me of someone." Abby replied.

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Monty started taking off Octavia's wristband to try and contract the Ark, "You sure about this? Your brother won't approve of you helping us contact the Ark." Monty said, "He's not my keeper. Let's just do this. Let's do it." Octavia said. Monty grabbed a knife and slid it between the wristband and Octavia's skin, he started to pry it off, "Ahh!" Octavia said in pain. "Son of a--" Octavia said, "Sorry." Monty replied. Monty watched as the wristband died, "Dead." He said, shaking his head. "Damn it," Monty said. Octavia sat back, "If we can't even take it off, how do you expect to turn it into a radio?" Octavia asked. The hatch door opened and Atom can to the top of it. "Go on. I'll be fine. Work to do." Monty said, Octavia got up and walked to the hatch, "Monty, Jasper understands why you stayed." Octavia said, "How is someone raised beneath the floor not a total basket case?" Monty asked. "Who says I'm not." Octavia replied. She got to the dropship floor where Atom was waiting. "It's because he loves you. Your brother? You're not a basket case because you were loved." Atom explained, "Yeah, I'm a lucky girl." Octavia said. "I'm not saying I had it worse than you, Octavia, because I didn't. But you have someone who would do anything for you. I envy that." 

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"I've been thinking about Mount Weather." Finn said, "Me too, the Mountain Men. There're people in there." Clarke said, "Madi said they would kill us all." Finn reminded her. "How are we going to get those supplies?" Clarke asked, "We could ask Madi for help." Finn said. They spotted a pond, "Wow." Finn said, "Well, at least we don't have to worry about water." Clarke said. Finn walked right into the water while Clarke stopped to fill a bottle. Finn splashed her, "Come on, Finn. We don't have time for this." Clarke said. "Clarke, we've been hiking for hours. We need to take a break." Finn said, "I'll take a break when we get there. Come on." Clarke said, she and Finn started to walk out when she nearly fell, Finn caught her. He pulled her into the water. " Damn it, Finn! Oh, wow. Okay. Maybe just a minute." Clarke said. "Yeah. I think I know why you're so hell-bent on getting peace, why you're always taking care of everybody else." Finn said, "Now you sound like my mother. No. Go on. This should be good. The delinquent psychiatrist." Clarke replied, "You couldn't save your father." Finn said.

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Abby stood pressing buttons on a computer, "Abby, we have to stop. The council vote's in thirty minutes." Jackson said, "Then we have thirty minutes. Anything from engineering?" Abby asked, "Nothing good. According to Sinclair, even if we sent a signal down, the wristbands weren't designed to receive, so the kids wouldn't even hear it." Jackson said. "There's got to be something we missed, something that we haven't thought of." Abby said, frustrated, they head a clang come for a room behind them. "Great. What's falling apart now?" Jackson asked. Abby walked over to the door and type in the passcode, she saw Raven trying to get away, "Hey! Hey!" Abby said. She grabbed Raven by the leg and pulled her down. Raven walked out the door, "Apparently you have a thing for air ducts." Abby said, "I'll call security." Jackson said but was stopped when he heard Raven, "They're not dying." She said, "What are you talking about?" Abby asked, "All that's being transmitted from the ground?" Raven asked, "Transmitted by these." Abby said, picking up a wristband and tossing it to Raven. Raven remained the wristband, "They're taking them off." Raven said tossing it back to Abby. "What? Why would they do something so reckless?" Jackson asked, "Because we told them not to." Abby smirked.

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Octavia was sharpening a knife when Atom came over, handing her a bowl of water before walking away. Octavia looked over at a rock where a beautiful luminescent butterfly had landed. "Hello, beautiful." Octavia said The butterfly started flying away, "Hey, where are you going?" Octavia asked, following it. Octavia found hundreds of butterfly attached to the trees, they started landing on her, "Wow." She said. Atom walked up behind her, she turned around slowly. Atom kissed her, quickly. Octavia proceeded to kiss him, before pulling away, "It's okay." Atom said, "We've got nothing but time." He said.

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"Hey, how do we know this is the right way?" Murphy asked, "We don't." Bellamy responded, "It's simple, second-year Earth Skills." Wells said. They made it took a clearing with no one in it. "Where is she?" Jasper asked. "I'm right here." Madi said, dropping out of a tree. Bellamy pulled his gun out. "You shouldn't have brought him here, Clarke." Madi said pointing to Bellamy, "She's right, Clarke." Wells said, "Look, you said you wanted to talk." Bellamy said, taking a step towards her. Two men with swords dropped out of the trees, "Sorry, nasty habit." Madi said, gesturing for them to put their weapons away. "We camp here tonight." Madi said, a few more people dropped out of the trees. "One of you should go back to your camp to make sure things stay peaceful." Madi said. "Bellamy and Murphy will go." Clarke volunteered them. Bellamy and Murphy started walking back to camp. 

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Abby sat at the council table, "Data indicates that the violent criminals in the group are eight times more likely to have terminated signals. We believe that this means that the kids are taking off the wristbands by choice." Abby explained to the other counselors. "So how do you explain Wells?" Kane asked, "Kane is right. My son would... Never take his wristband off voluntarily." Jaha said, "Both our children have done things that we could never have predicted. The point holds. These children need more time." Abby said, "We don't have time. Engineering needs six months to fix life support, and we'll be out of oxygen in four. Nobody wants to do this, but the inescapable fact is that for every day we delay, ten more people will need to be sacrificed. So today it's two hundred and nine, tomorrow it's two hundred and nineteen. The day after that is two hundred and twenty-nine. We're the ones who need more time. I move that we vote now." Kane said, "I second that." Another council member said, "Very well. The matter before us requires a four-vote majority to pass. A vote in favor is to vote to cull two hundred and nine citizens of the Ark from the supply grid in order to extend life support for those who remain by six months. All those in favor?" The senior council member said. "Aye." Kane said, "Aye." another member said, "Aye," One last person said. "All those opposed." The senior council member said, "Nay." Abby said, "Nay," Another member said, "Nay," One last member said. "Three votes to three. The Chancellor will break the tie." The senior member said, "We didn't ask for this. Ours was to be a transitional generation... Ensuring that three generations from now mankind could go home. But everything has changed, and we will either be the generation that sees the human race return to Earth, or upon whose watch it finally ends. My son is already down there. I sent him. And the truth is I don't know if he is alive or dead. But I still have hope." Jaha said, "How does the Chancellor vote?" The senior council member pressed. "I don't." Jaha said, "Sir, if you abstain, the vote ends in a tie to be automatically taken up again in ten days." The council member said, "That's ten more dead for every day." Kane reminded him, "I ask again, how does the Chancellor vote?" The senior council member asked. "The Chancellor abstains." Jaha said. Kane banged his hands down on the table and walked out, Jaha turned to Abby, "You have ten days." He said.

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"Did someone call for a mechanic?" Raven asked, banging on the door. The door opened to show Abby. "You're the one who called in the work order?" Raven asked. "We need to talk." Abby said, letting Raven in. Abby shut the door. "Look, I told you I'm not gonna say anything, okay?" Raven said, "I believe you, and you're not in trouble. Follow me." Abby said, walking through a doorway. "Not in trouble yet, you mean." Raven said and Abby sighed, "This level's off-limits for people like me." Raven said. "Not anymore. You know that we sent the hundred down to the ground. What you don't know is why. The Ark is dying, Raven. Life support is on its last legs. I have ten days to prove that Earth is survivable or they're gonna start reducing population. Three hundred and twenty innocent people will be killed." Abby explained, "I don't get it. Why are you telling me this?" Raven asked, "I looked up your file. You're the youngest zero-g mechanic on the Ark in fifty years." Abby said, "Fifty-two, but, so what?" Raven asked, "So..." Abby said, reading a sheet of an old space shuttle, "You have nine days to get this ready so I can survive a drop." Abby said. Raven examined the space shuttle. "God, what a piece of junk. They must have found this thing when they salvaged Mir-3 in twenty-one oh two. You want me to get a hundred-and-thirty-year-old escape pod ready to stand up to the inferno of re-entry in nine days?" Raven asked. "Can you do it or not?" Abby asked, "Hell, yes, I can do it, but I'm going with you. You're not the only one with someone you love on the ground. Those are my terms. Take it or leave it." Raven countered. "All right. You can come with me." Abby gave in. "You got yourself a mechanic." Raven replied.


	4. Earth Kills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting up with Madi she invites Clarke on a walk and Bellamy returns to camp. Bellamy and his crew go hunting for food and are joined by Charlotte, a lovable 12-year-old who feels safe under Bellamy's protection. A thick, acidic fog appears, forcing Madi, Sofi, Clarke, Finn, Jasper, and Wells to seek shelter inside an ancient van. While they are trapped, Clarke confronts Wells about his betrayal that resulted in her father's death.

*The Ark, One Year Ago*

"There we go. There we go! Feel that? Feel that? See that? Here comes the momentum change." Jake said as they watched a soccer game on the television. "Defense." Wells said, "The defense is there." Jaha said, "Serve it up. Yeah! Oh! Yeah! Ho! Right here, kid." Jake said as Clarke high five him, "They're unbeatable." Jake said, "Prepare for crushing defeat." Clarke said. "It's not over yet." Wells responded, "Actually, it was over a hundred and forty-seven years ago." Clarke said. "A technicality." Jaha replied, "Give it up. You're going down." Jake said. Abby walked in the door. "What'd I miss?" She asked, "Your husband and daughter being obnoxious." Jaha replied, "Jake, you better play nice." Abby told him. "Come on, get down the field, fire." Wells said as his team made their way down the field. "Waste of time. Waste..." Jake said Abby hugged him from behind, "Hey, baby." Jake said, "Hi. So, I ran into Bennett when I was leaving the clinic and he has that systems analysis that you asked for." Abby told him. "Ho-ho-ho-ho!" Wells called as his team scored a goal. "This isn't gonna last." Clarke said. "What was that about momentum? Oh, oh, I feel the momentum." Wells said. "Okay." Jake told Abby, getting up. "What? You're going now?" Abby asked, "Just for a few minutes." Jake responded, "Everything okay?" Jaha asked worried, "Oh, yeah. You know this old boat. It's always something." Jake told him.

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It was night now, Clarke, Wells, Finn, Jasper, Sofi, and Madi sat around a campfire. "There will be terms your people will need to follow to stay here." Madi said, eating some deer. "Of course, but I was wondering about trade deals." Clarke said, Sofi snickered. "Clarke, there's nothing your people have that my people want." Madi said. "You'll have to give something to Indra." Sofi said. "Who's Indra?" Wells asked, "I told you about the 13 clans right." Madi said and they all nodded, "You're in Trikru territory. So you'll have to give something to Trikru's leader to stay here." Madi explained, "Like what?" Jasper asked, "Whatever you have." Sofi suggested. "Enough talk of Indra, we're going on a walk tomorrow," Madi said to Clarke before getting up and walking into her tent. 

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Pascal jumped in the ditch first before offering his hand to Trina, she jumped down after him. "I think this is north. Come on." Trina said, "Really? Because we just came from that way, Miss I-Can-Navigate-With-The-Stars." Pascal replied. "It's your fault we've been lost for two days. Never should've gone off by ourselves." Trina told him. "Come on. We'll find the dropship tomorrow." Pascal responded, sitting down and pulling Trina to him, "That's what you said last night. And I'm hungry." She said, "Trina, relax. We're fine." Pascal sat before kissing her. Trina felt something, "Did you feel that?" She asked they both turned to see a yellow fog coming towards them. "What is it?" Trina asked as they backed away, "I don't know," Pascal responded. The fog encased them "Ahh. I can't see!" Trina called, "Let's get out of here." Pascal said, "Oh, my God, it burns! Aah! Aah!" Trina screamed. They both died, screaming.

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Murphy threw his knife at the tree and it bounced off, "Damn it." He said, Bellamy, picked up and ax and threw it at the tree and it stuck. "That's how it's done." Bellamy said Atom and a group of Bellamy's guys came up to them. "We searched a half-mile all directions. No sign of Trina or Pascal." Atom said. "Visit your special tree when you were out there?" Murphy asked, "Atom took his punishment. Let it go." Bellamy said, "Could be Grounders." Atom suggested, "Yeah, or they could be in pound town. Lots of that going around recently." Murphy said. "Look, Bellamy, people are scared." Atom said, "Morale will go up when I find them more food." Bellamy insisted. "And what do we say when they ask about Trina and Pascal?" The man beside Atom asked, "Now? Nothing. It's possible they're just lost. We'll keep an eye out for them when we go hunting later." Bellamy said. "Let's go kill something." Murphy said. Bellamy stopped him from following the group. "You're not coming." He said, "I need you to stay here. We can't leave this place unprotected." Bellamy explained. "Fine." Murphy groaned. 

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"Tell me about yourself, Clarke." Madi said. Clarke, Madi, Sofi, Jasper, Finn, and Wells walked through the forest. "Why?" Clarke asked, "To defeat thy enemy you must know thy enemy." Madi said, "The Art of War." Wells said, "Exactly," Madi smiled, "So, tell me about your home." Madi said.

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Octavia walked into the dropship where she saw Atom sitting down and sharpening his knife. "Hey. I could really use a break from this place. What do you say you and me take a trip to the butterfly field? Huh?" Octavia asked. Atom ignored her and continued to sharpen his knife, "Am I being too subtle?" Octavia asked Atom kept ignoring her and sharpening his knife. Octavia walked out.

"What did you do to Atom?" Octavia asked Bellamy, he motioned for Murphy to leave his tent and he did. "Atom's fine." Bellamy replied, "Then why did he blow me off?" Octavia asked, "Maybe he's not interested." Bellamy suggested, "You can't keep everyone away from me." Octavia said. "Atom had to learn. You disobey me, you pay the price. He paid the price. Now we're good." Bellamy said, "Now I'm paying the price. So, next time you decide to go on a power trip, leave me out of it." Octavia said and walked out.

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*The Ark, One Year Ago*

Abby stated out the window at Earth, Jake walked in and sat down. "How'd it go?" Abby asked, "Hey." Jake said. "Well, I told Jaha it's definitive. The Ark's got a year of oxygen left, maybe two." Jake said, "You'll fix it." Abby said. "Not this time. I've tried, Abby. This isn't a glitch. It's a system failure. People need to know." Jake said, "No. They'll panic." Abby said. "You sound like Kane." Jake chuckled, "Because he's right." Abby said. Jake stood up, "No. We can't avoid the truth. We have to let everyone on the Ark put their minds to a solution." He said. "What, and risk anarchy? No. It's too dangerous. Promise me that you'll obey the council's orders, that you'll keep it quiet. Promise me." Abby begged, "I can't." Jake said, "For Clarke. Do it for Clarke." Abby pleaded, "I am doing this for Clarke." Jake replied. "They'll float you, Jake. If you do this, I won't be able to stop it." Abby said. Little did they know that Clarke was listening to their conversation.

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"What about you?" Clarke asked Madi. "I was born in Detro, the capital of my clan. At age 6 our clan leader took a shining to me and decided he would train me and I would take over after him." Madi said, looking at Sofi who was talking with Wells and Finn, "You're training her?" Clarke asked, "Yes. Anyway, when the past commander died the clan next to us, The Rock Line clan decided that they wanted some of our lands and started a war. Our clan leader died and I came to power." Madi said, "How long ago was that?" Clarke asked, "I came to power when was... 14, so 8 years ago." Madi said, "You were 14 when you started leading a clan?!" Clarke said, disbelieving. Madi smiled, "Yes, Clarke, and I ended the war." Madi said, "How?" Clarke asked. Madi looked in pain and sad when she answered, "I killed their clan leader." Madi said. "Hey!" Finn shouted from behind them "Look what we found." Jasper said they all looked at the car, "Come on, we've got somewhere to be." Madi said and started walking again.

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The hunting party watched the boar, "Shh... She's mine." Bellamy whispered. A twig snapped behind the group and Bellamy threw his ax into a tree, nearly missing a little girl. The boar ran, "Get him!" A boy yelled and they ran after the boar. Bellamy and Atom faced the little girl, "Who the hell are you?" Bellamy asked, "Charlotte." She responded, "I almost killed you," Bellamy said, pulling the ax out of the tree. "Why aren't you back at camp?" Bellamy asked, "I just needed to get away." Charlotte said, looking down. "It's too dangerous for a little girl." Atom said, "I'm not little." Charlotte replied, fiercely. "Okay, then..." Bellamy said, handing her a knife. "But you can't hunt without a weapon. Ever killed something before?" Bellamy asked. Charlotte shook her head 'no'. "Who knows? Maybe you're good at it." Bellamy said.

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"Can I ask you why Madi looked so pained when she told me about killing the Rock Line clan leader?" Clarke asked Sofi. Sofi looked as, "Uhh... Madi knew him, and his daughter." Sofi explained, "I think that's when she learned what it means to be a leader, to bear it so we don't have too. Madi never wanted anyone to feel that pain so she did everything in her power to stop it. Anyway, we met the daughter a few years back and she told Madi that she did the right thing." Sofi said, "Wow." Clarke responded. Madi walked with Finn ahead of them while Wells and Jasper were in the back. They heard a horn sound, "What is that?" Wells asked, Madi looked back at Sofi, another horn sounded, "Run!" Madi yelled. "Go! Now!" She yelled.

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*The Ark, One Year Ago*

Clarke and Wells sat a the table playing chess, Clarke looked distracted, not focusing on the game. "Clarke, you're up," Wells said Clarke was still unfocused. Wells tapped her on the shoulder, "Clarke?" He said. "Sorry." Clarke replied, moving a chess piece. "Well, if your strategy is to lose really fast, that was a great move. What's going on?" Wells asked, "Nothing." Clarke replied. "You can talk to me." Wells said. Clarke contemplated for a moment, before leaning closer. "My dad found a problem with the oxygen system. I'm not supposed to know." Clarke said. "They've had other malfunctions. They always figure out a way to deal with it." Wells shrugged off. "No. This one might not be fixable. The council doesn't want anyone to know." Clarke said. "The council meaning my dad?" Wells asked, "Yeah. And my mom and others. I think he's gonna go public anyway." Clarke said, worried. "Clarke, he can't. He'll get floated." Wells said, "I know. But what if he's right? Don't people deserve to know the truth? You can't tell your dad I told you. You can't tell anyone." Clarke trusted him. "Your secret's safe with me. I promise." Wells swore.

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Another horn blew in the distance, "The car!" Jasper yelled. Finn held the door open as Clarke, Jasper, Wells, Sofi, and Madi climbed in before getting in himself. "It's getting in." Clarke worried, "Seal the openings." Sofi suggested. They were all coughing. 

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Bellamy and the boys ran as fast as they could from the fog, "Come on! There are caves this way." Bellamy yelled as he ran through the woods. They could hear a horn blow in the distance. Charlotte and Bellamy were separated from the rest of the group, she reached out to him and he grabbed her arm pulling her with him. Atom ran behind them but tripped, getting trapped in the fog. Another horn blew as Bellamy and Charlotte raced up a hill. Another horn blew as they ran into the cave, "Bellamy!" A voice called out. Bellamy started coughing, "Bellamy!" The voice called, Atom, Bellamy realized, but there was nothing he could do. The fog forced Bellamy inside the cave.

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People started running into the dropship, closing hatches and vents. "What happened?" Monty asked, looking up from the wristband he was working on. "Air got thick, everybody's skin started burning." Someone said. "Monty, my brother's out there." Octavia said with worry. "He'll be fine. We'll all be fine." Monty replied.

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Finn whipped off the dirt off the window. "It's still out there." Finn said, "It'll be out there for a few more hours." Madi said, comfortably. "What the hell is that?" Clarke asked, "All we know it that it burns your skin and kills you, like acid." Madi explained. Finn and Jasper started messing with the glove compartment. They were able to jimmy it open, they looked down at the bottle, smiling. "Is that..." Clarke asked, "Booze. Hooch. Rotgut." Finn replied, he uncorked it and took a swig, before offering Jasper the bottle. Jasper took a swig before offering it to Sofi and Madi, Madi smiled but declined. Sofi asked Madi with her eyes, "Go ahead." Madi said, and Sofi took a swig, offering it to Wells and Clarke. "Alcohol's toxic." Wells said to Finn, "This is Earth. Everything's toxic. Plus, it's a time-honored rite of passage." Finn replied, "We'll pass." Wells said Sofi passed the bottle back to Finn. Clarke looked at Wells angry that he spoke for her. She grabbed the bottle, "Far be it for me to stand in the way of tradition." Clarke said before taking a swig and coughing.

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Bellamy and Charlotte were sleeping on the cave floor. Charlotte was having a nightmare, "No!!!" She screamed in her sleep. Bellamy woke up to her screaming, he shook her awake. "Charlotte, wake up." Bellamy said, "Sorry." Charlotte replied, looking down. "Does it happen often?" Bellamy asked, Charlotte looked down and sighed. Bellamy got his answer. "What are you scared of? You know what? It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what you do about it." Bellamy said Charlotte looked confused, "But... I'm asleep." She said, confused. "Fears are fears. Slay your demons when you're awake, they won't be there to get you when you sleep." Bellamy explained, "Yeah, but... How?" Charlotte asked, "You can't afford to be weak. Down here, weakness is death, fear is death. Let me see that knife I gave you." Bellamy said, Charlotte took out the knife and handed it to Bellamy, "Now, when you feel afraid, you hold tight to that knife and you say, 'screw you. I'm not afraid.'" Bellamy said and handed the knife back to Charlotte. She gripped the knife with both her hands, "Screw you. I'm not afraid." She said, timidly. Bellamy gave her a look, egging her on. "Screw you. I'm not afraid." She repeated with confidence. Bellamy smiled and patted her on the shoulder, "Slay your demons, kid. Then you'll be able to sleep." Bellamy said.

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Clarke took another sip of whiskey, obviously drunk. "Maybe you should ease up on the drinking, Clarke." Jasper suggested, "Nahhh," Clarke replied. Madi sighed, "What? Am I such a downer. I can be fun. Yeah. You think I'm fun. Right?" Clarke asked Finn, "Oh, yeah. Among other things." Finn said, "You're fun. You remember that time..." Wells said. Clarke was now upset in addition to being drunk. "Remember that time you betrayed me and got my father executed? Yeah, I remember. Where were we? Fun." Clarke said. Madi rubbed her temples and looked at Sofi. Sofi was trying not to laugh, Madi smacked her on the head. "What?" Sofi whispered, "Stop laughing." Madi whispered back. "That was funny." Sofi replied with raised eyebrows, Madi looked down and shook her head. Clarke was still focused on Wells, "Well, since you brought it up, and I didn't, because I don't want to talk about it, what were you thinking?" Clarke asked, "I made a mistake, Clarke." Wells said, "'I made a mistake, Clarke.'" Clarke said, disbelieving. Clarke was close to tears now, "Not good enough." Clarke said, before growing angry. "You know, I bet you couldn't wait to run to daddy. Tell him everything so that he'd finally believe you were the perfect son he always wanted." Clarke spat. Wells started to get angry, "What do you want me to say?!" He yelled at her. "I want an explanation." Clarke said. "I can't give you one. I thought I could trust him." Wells replied, "Well, I thought I could trust my best friend. Guess we were both wrong." Clarke said, sitting back and taking another drink of the whiskey. "I'm still your friend." Wells insisted. "No, you're not. If you were my friend, you would walk out into that fog and never come back." Clarke said harshly. "Okay, how about we just... take it easy." Finn said, "Yeah," Jasper agreed, Sofi was messing with a dagger and Madi was mediating. Finn grabbed the bottle of whiskey from Clarke. "I have no idea how to do that." Clarke said. Wells reached over to Finn and grabbed the whiskey, he sniffed it and took a drink. "So, we having fun yet?" Finn asked. Jasper looked at him and they both laughed. 

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*The Ark, One Year Ago*

Jake looked into the camera while recording the message, "In this time of uncertainty, we will come together as a people. I'm telling you this because you must know the truth and because I want a future for my child and yours. Be strong." Jake said. Clarke entered the room, "You're gonna disobey the council?" Clarke asked, putting her bag down, Jake was silent. "Dad, I know. I heard you and mom." Clarke said, "Okay, you know. I've been thinking about this a long time. The people have a right to know. Your mother doesn't understand." Jake said, "What's the plan?" Clarke asked Jake smiled at her, "You don't need to know the plan." He responded, "You're making a video, so, what? You're gonna break into the communications mainframe? Making you either suicidal or incredibly dumb." Clarke said, "Wow. You are picking a fine moment to start behaving like a typical teenager." Jake joked, "I'm gonna help you." Clarke declared, "No." Jake said, getting up from the chair, "No, Clarke, you're not." He said. "But I can--" Jake interrupted her, "Absolutely not. No. No, baby." He said. He hugged her, and kissed her cheek, "You get that stubborn streak from your mother, you know. One of many things I love about both of you." Jake said with a smile. The door blew open and 8 guards walked in, "Jake Griffin, you're under arrest for treason." The head guard said, three guards took Jake into custody, "Dad? Dad?" Clarke said as she tried to run towards him, "No, no, no, no." She said as the guards started to restrain her, "Get your hands off of her." Jake demanded, "Let me go!" Clarke yelled, they let her go, she ran and hugged her father, "I'll warn them. I'll find a way." Clarke whispered to him. Guards restained Clarke again, "No, Clarke, no, listen to me. Do not... do not do that." Jake yelled as they dragged him away. Clarke struggled, "Get off of me! Let me go! Let me go! Dad! Dad!" She yelled.

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Clarke opened the door to the car. "The fog's cleared. Come on." Clarke said, everyone, got out of the car, "Go back to your camp, Clarke. When I have a list of demands I'll come to you." Madi said, and they walked the opposite direction of the dropship. 

Clarke and Jasper walked ahead, talking and laughing. Finn walked up to Wells, "Last night was pretty intense. You and Clarke ever..." Finn implied, "No. Not like that." Wells said, "So, help me out. Your best friend tells you something fairly explosive. You seem like the type of guy that'd keep it to yourself." Finn said, "You don't know me." Wells bit, "Why'd you do it?" Finn asked, "I don't know. Why do you care?" Wells asked, "You knew what the rules were on The Ark. You had to know her dad would get floated." Finn said, "I made a choice. If she hates me for the rest of my life, I made the right choice, and that's all you have to know." Wells said and walked away, leaving a confused Finn behind.

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Bellamy and Charlotte walked out of the cave, "It's clear." Bellamy said, looking around. "Anyone out here?!" Bellamy called, "We're here!" Jones yelled back. Bellamy and Charlotte caught up with the others. "Lost you in the stew. Where'd you go?" Bellamy asked, "Made it to a cave down there." Jones replied, pointing to the direction he came from. "What the hell was that?" Bellamy asked. "I don't know." Jones responded Bellamy looked around, "Where's Atom?" He asked. Jones shrugged.

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Wells lead the group while Clarke, Finn, and Jasper trailed behind. "Trapped in a hundred-year-old car by toxic fog. Whew. Last night was pretty... What's the word? Fun." Finn said, Jasper snicked behind them and Clarke looked back at him, Jasper put his hands up in surrender. "It wasn't fun," Clarke said. "You were kind of rough on Wells." Finn said, "Hardly," Clarke replied, "Sure." Jasper said, earning him the stink eye. "He's a pretty straight-up guy. And he loves you. You know that, right? But every time your dad comes up, he won't give you a straight answer. Makes me think he's hiding something. So, I gotta ask you. How sure are you that Wells is the one who turned in your dad?" Finn asked, "A hundred percent. All right? He's the only one I told." Clarke said. "Is he the only one who knew?" Finn asked. They heard a scream in the distance, "What the hell?" Jasper asked.

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Charlotte screamed Atom lay on the floor, covered in burns near death. Bellamy comes running and sees Charlotte looking at Atom. "Son of a bitch. Atom." Bellamy said and walked over to him, Bellamy knelt down next to him. "Kill me. Kill me. Kill... me." Atom begged. The others ran up behind Charlottle, she walked over to Atom. He started coughing, Charlottle grabbed her knife from her pocket and put it in Bellamy's hand. "I... can't... breathe." Atom said, "Don't be afraid." Charlotte said, "Go back to camp." Bellamy said, and the hunting party left, "You too, Charlotte." Bellamy said, and she walked away. Bellamy knelt down, "Kill me." Atom begged. Bellamy stared at him, "Bellamy, please." He begged. Clarke walked up behind Bellamy, horrified. She walked over and knelt down on the other side of Atom. "Please." Atom begged, "I heard screaming." Clarke said. "Charlotte found him. I sent her back to camp." Bellamy said. Clarke examined Atom and looked up at Bellamy, shaking her head. Bellamy looks down and nods understanding what must be done. Clarke took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm gonna help you, all right?" Clarke said. Clarke combed her hand through his hair and started humming. Bellamy looks at Clarke as she takes the knife from his hand. Clarke pierced the knife through Atom's neck. Bellamy stared at Clarke as she continued to hum. Atom died while Clarke hummed. Charlotte was watching from the trees.

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Bellamy and Jasper carried Atom's body on a stretcher. Everyone around the campfire stood up, "I'll dig his grave." Wells said. Octavia came out of the dropship, "About time." She said, "Yeah." Clarke replied, and tried to direct Octavia back into the dropship, Octavia pushed past her. "Octavia, just stay there. Please, stay back." Bellamy said as Octavia walked up to him, "Why?" Octavia asked. Bellamy held her back, "Stop." She said and pushed Bellamy away. Octavia walked over to the body and lifted up the jacket. "Atom." Octavia said with tears in her eyes. "There's nothing I could do." Bellamy tried to explain, "Don't." Octavia stopped him. Octavia cried before lifting the jacket back over Atom's face. Octavia got up. "O... O... please." Bellamy tried to explain, "Don't." Octavia said, shoving past him. Murphy walked up to Bellamy as he sniffled, "Lose anyone here?" Bellamy asked, "No." Murphy replied. 

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*The Ark, One Year Ago.*

Jake was being walked to the airlock, Wells, Jaha, Abby, and a few guards stood at the door. Jake was stopped in front of Abby, he smiled, "Hey, baby." He said, Abby, rushed over and hugged him. Jake was let out of his handcuffs, he wrapped his arms around her. "You have to warn them, Abby." Jake whispered to her, "Oh, Jake, stop." Abby said, "The Ark's dying. There's no choice." Jake said, "Yes there is," Abby said, "There's Earth. We'll at least have a chance." Abby said. The airlock door opened and they let go of each other. Jake put his wedding ring in Abby's hand. "Here. Hang on to this." Jake said. Abby tried to blink away her tears, Jake took his watch off and handed it to her, "And... give this to Clarke and tell her that I--" Jake was interrupted, "Dad!" Clarke yelled from behind him. The guards stopped Clarke, Abby walked up to her, "Clarke, you shouldn't be here, honey. You don't want to see this." Abby said, "It's okay." Jaha said, Clarke ran to her father and hugged him. "It's okay. It's okay." Jake said, putting her down. "Here. Keep that for me." Jake said, handing her his watch. "Jake, it's time." Jaha said. Jake hugged Clarke and kissed Abby. "I love you, kid." He said as he walked backward. "I love you." Clarke said. Jake walked into the airlock and Abby put her arm around Clarke. The door shut, Jaha nodded to the guard and Jake was sucked out the door. Clarke's knees started to buckle, Abby was the only thing holding her up. "Oh, my god." Clarke sobbed. Jaha and Wells left the room. "I'm so sorry," She said. "Sweetheart, it's not your fault." Abby said.

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Clarke, Monty, Jasper, and Finn sat in the top level of the dropship, "I'm really sorry about Finn." Clarke said. "I guess we're gonna have to get used to people dying down here, aren't we?" Octavia replied.

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Wells was digging Atom's grave was Clarke walked up to him. "Wells?" Clarke said, "I know I probably don't deserve it, but I need to know the truth. It was my mom. Wasn't it? She's the one who told your dad. I didn't want to believe it. I... I couldn't. I blamed you because my father's dead and it's my mother's fault. Isn't it? Wells... Please." Clarke begged. Wells looked away from her, "I knew how you would feel." Wells said, "I wanted to--" Clarke interrupted him, "Protect me. So, you let me hate you?" Clarke asked, "What are friends for?" Wells said. "How can you forgive me?" Clarke asked, "It's already done." Wells said, pulling her into a hug.

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Monty took a swig of the whiskey, "Smooth." He said, and coughed. He offered the bottle to Octavia who took it. "Disgusting, love it." Octavia said, before passing the bottle to Finn. Jasper came up the ladder, "Can I get a hit of that?" He asked, "Jasper." Octavia said with a smile. Finn offered him the bottle, he took a swig. "Still nasty." He said. Clarke walked up the ladder. "Hey." She said with a smile. 

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Wells sat on a log when Charlotte walked up behind him. "Hi." She said, "Couldn't sleep?" Wells asked. "I never can. You on watch?" She asked. "Join me." Wells said, she sat down next to him. "I had a nightmare." Charlotte said. " But... I think I found a way to make them stop. I'm sorry." Charlotte said, as she stabbed him in the side of the neck. Wells reached his hand out "No." Charlotte said and cut off two of his fingers. Wells fell off the log and rolled down the hill. He reached up to Charlotte. Wells died. "Every night, I see him. Your father. He kills my parents and... and I see his face and... and I wake up and I see yours. And the nightmare never ends. The only way to make it end was... was to slay my demons. I had to." Charlotte said. She sat, watching the sunrise and humming, just like Clarke when she killed Atom.


	5. Murphy's Law

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the shocking death of one of their own, Clarke and Finn grow closer as they try to figure out a way to communicate with the Ark. Bellamy tries to keep the group from turning on one another as life on Earth takes a desperate turn. Meanwhile, Abby risks having herself floated in order to give Raven the chance to stow-away in the escape pod bound for Earth.

Clarke sat at Wells's graveside. Finn walked up beside her, she pulled out a knife and pointed it at him. "You shouldn't be alone out here. What if I had tried to kill you?" Finn asked, "They found Wells alone outside the main camp." Finn said, "Says the guy who just spent another night exploring the woods all by himself." Clarke scoffed. "But I'm reckless. And irresponsible. I got you something." Finn said, he held his hands out and showed her a pencil. "Where did you get this?" Clarke asked and took the pencil from him, amazed. "The art supply store." Finn said with a smile. Clarke remembered something and started to look sad again, "I know when we were kids... Wells was always giving me ink, charcoal, just anything I could draw with, really. I found out later that he was trading his own stuff to give it to me. He didn't want me to know that, either. He let me hate him so that I wouldn't hate my mother." Clarke said. "I know." Finn said sadly. "My mother killed my father. Just wish there was something I could do. To tell her I know. Make her feel what I'm--" Clarke realized what she could do. Clarke started walking towards the dropship, "Where are you going?" Finn called after her, "To make her feel." Clarke said, sternly.

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Abby was asleep on the counsel when they heard beeping from the monitors, indicating someone was dying. Abby looked up at the board as Clarke's transmission cut. "No! no." Abby screamed, she ran to the board, "No. Hell no. No. No. Th... this isn't right." Abby said. Abby walked the counsel Jackson was working on and started clicking buttons, "Abby." Jackson tried, "No." Abby responded, not accepting that Clarke was 'dead'. Jackson pulled her hand off the counsel, "Abby." He said again. "Okay. It's not conclusive. Just because her wristband went out doesn't mean... okay. It's the first terminated signal in over a week. We can still assume that things are stabilizing on Earth. We should assume that." Abby said and walked to the door, she turned around, "I need an analysis of Clarke's vital signs for the past two days." Abby said, "Abby," Jackson tried one last time, "Just have it ready for me when I get back." Abby said before walking out the door.

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Monty looked at the operational wristband. "Yes! I did it." Monty said. "It's still operational." He cheered. Monty got back to work and Clarke walked over to Finn. "What? Monty needed a working wristband." Clarke said, defensively. "And you needed to punish your mother." Finn said, "Look, they're running out of air, and we may need their help. My mother thinking I'm dead is only temporary." Clarke said, "Not if I can't patch it through the dropship mainframe." Monty said, Finn and Clarke looked at him. "I can do it. We'll be talking to The Ark by nightfall." Monty said. 

Octavia lead Jasper outside of the main camp, "Look, we're already there. Just a few steps, okay? One foot in front of the other. Hey. What's wrong?" Octavia asked, worried. "Nothing, I'm good." Jasper said, "Hey, the only grounders we've met are friendly." Octavia said Jasper nodded. Octavia started walking again, someone pulled her to the side, Jasper was frozen, "Octavia!" He called. Jasper ran around the tree stump to find a delinquent holding Octavia, "Hey, jerk! Get the hell out of here. Jasper, come on. There's nothing to be afraid of." Octavia said. Jasper fell over and looked up, he saw a knife sitting on the ground and Well's fingers next to them.

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Abby saw Kane walking towards her, "Councillor." He said Abby kept walking, "Councillor." She replied. Kane turned around "Are you headed to Mecha Station?" Kane asked. Abby stopped and looked at Kane, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am." Abby said. Kane walked towards her, "You've been down there nine times in the past week. Is there something I should be made aware of?" Kane asked. Abby took a step towards him, "Are you tracking me, Kane?" Abby asked, already aware of the answer. "I'm tracking everybody, Abby. Mind if I join you?" Kane asked, "Not at all. But you're gonna have to be inoculated." Abby said. "Inoculated?" Kane asked, confused. "A mechanic came down with strep last week. She's fine now, but I'm still checking the bacterial levels in the station. We don't want another outbreak. We can stop by sick bay on the way." Abby started walking, "That's okay." Kane said. " I don't want to slow you down. Just... keep me informed." Kane said, "Absolutely." Abby responded before walking away.

Raven was drilling in a part when Abby walked in, "How soon can you get this thing ready to drop?" Abby asked. "I'm still scraping up parts to fabricate a pressure regulator. We got two more days, right?" Raven asked. Abby paced back and forth, "Can we launch without that part?" She asked, "We could launch, but we'll be dead before we get to the ground. And I mean bad dead. Ruptured lungs, air bubbles in the brain. We need that part. Why? What's wrong? Did something change?" Raven asked, suddenly worried. Abby was silent for a minute, "Clarke's wristband signal went out." Abby said. Raven stopped what she was doing and looked at her, "Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything, right? She took it off like the rest of them." Raven said. Abby's posture and silence told her that Abby didn't know. "Okay. I can get a pressure regulator. Today." Raven said, grabbing her jacket. "How?" Abby asked, "The less you know, the better." Raven replied.

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The fingers and knife sat in front of Clarke and Bellamy, Clarke picked up the knife. "This knife was made of metal from the dropship." Clarke said, "What do you mean?" Jasper asked. "Who else knows about this?" Bellamy asked. "No one. We brought it straight here." Octavia said. Clarke contemplated, "Clarke?" Jasper asked. "It means the Grounders didn't kill Wells. It was one of us." Clarke said, with relief and fear. "So, there's a murderer in the camp?" Jasper asked, "There's more than one murderer in this camp. This isn't news. We need to keep it quiet." Bellamy said. Clarke went to leave the tent, but Bellamy stepped in front of her, "Get out of my way, Bellamy." Clarke said, "Clarke, be smart about this. Like it or not, thinking the Grounders killed Wells is good for us." Bellamy said, "Oh, good for you, you mean. What... keep people afraid and they'll work for you? Is that it? Think about the peace we have with the grounders, one stupid move and we're all dead." Clarke said, "Clarke, everything we have built here, the homes and weapons we have built have all been built out of fear of the grounders. Besides, what are you gonna do? Walkout there and ask the murderer to step forward? You don't even know whos knife that is." Bellamy said. Clarke held up the knife, "Oh, really? J.M. John Murphy. The people have a right to know." Clarke said. Murphy stood in a group, talking with a few friends, Clarke walked up to him and shoved him back, "You son of a bitch!" Clarke yelled. "What’s your problem?" Murphy asked. "Recognize this?" Clarke asked, holding up his knife. "It’s my knife. Where’d you find it?" Murphy asked and tried to grab it, Clarke pulled her hand back. "Where you dropped it after you killed Wells." Clarke replied with anger. A group had started to gather around them, "Where I what? The Grounders killed Wells, not me." Murphy said. "I know what you did, and you’re gonna pay for it." Clarke said. "Really? Bellamy, you really believe this crap?" Murphy asked Bellamy. "You threatened to kill him. We all heard you. You hated Wells." Clarke said. "Plenty of people hated Wells. His father was the Chancellor that locked us up." Murphy replied. "Yeah, but you’re the only one who got in a knife fight with him." Clarke said. "Yeah, I didn’t kill him then, either." Murphy argued back. "Tried to kill Jasper, too." Octavia added. "Come on. This is ridiculous. I don’t have to answer to you. I don’t have to answer to anyone." Murphy said and walked around Clarke. "Come again?" Bellamy asked. Murphy walked to him, "Bellamy, look, I’m telling you, man. I didn’t do this." Murphy said. "They found his fingers on the ground with your knife." Bellamy replied. "Is this the kind of society that we want? You say there should be no rules. Does that mean that we can kill each other without… without punishment?" Clarke asked. "I already told you. I didn’t kill anyone." Murphy said. "I say we float him." Connor called. "Yeah." People agreed. "That’s not what I’m saying." Clarke said. "Why not? He deserves to float. It’s justice." Connor argued. "Revenge isn’t justice." Clarke replied. "It’s justice." Connor argued. Delinquents started chanting, "Float him!" They called. Murphy tried to run and was tripped, delinquents started kicking him. "No! Get off him! Get off of him!" Clarke shouted, people held her back as she fought them. Octavia tried to stop them, but Bellamy pulled her back. "Let him go!" Clarke yelled. They bound his hands and gaged him. They picked him up and threw him down a hill, continuing to beat him up. A delinquent threw a rope over a tree, "You can't do this!" Clarke yelled. Connor held her back, "Get off me!" She shouted. They put the rope around Murphy's neck and pulled the rope, putting a box under his feet, "NO!" Clarke yelled. Clarke pushed Bellamy, "You can stop this!" She yelled. "Bellamy! You should do it." Connor said. The crowd started chanting "Bellamy!" They shouted. "I saw you in the woods with Atom. I know you're not a killer. Bellamy, don't do this." Clarke pleaded. Bellamy walked towards Murphy, "Don't. Bellamy. You can't do this, Bellamy." Clarke begged. Bellamy kicked the box out from under his feet, Murphy thrashed. Charlotte watched in horror, as the delinquents cheered. "No, Bellamy, no! How could you?!" Clarke shouted. "This is on you, princess. You should've kept your mouth shut." Bellamy said. Finn came running over, "What the hell are you doing? Cut him down!" Finn shouted he put his hand on Charlotte's shoulder, "Charlotte, get out of here now!" He said before turning back to Murphy, Connor stepped in his path, "Cut him down! Get out of my way." Finn yelled and pushed Connor out of the way. "Stop, okay!" Charlotte called, everyone stopped, "Murphy didn't kill Wells, I did!" She yelled. "Oh, my god." Clarke said, she grabbed Bellamy's ax and cut Murphy down.

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People were taking chairs down in the mess when Raven arrived. Someone stopped her, "It's not meal time yet." He said. Raven walked right up to him, "I'm not hungry. I'm here to trade. Before you tell me I'm in the wrong place, just let Nygel know it's her little bird." Raven said. Nygel walked up, "Well, well, well. How long has it been, little bird?" Nygel asked. "I need a pressure regulator." Raven said, Nygel looked affronted about how Raven skipped right to business. "What for?" She asked, "Regulating pressure." Raven responded. "That's good. I see you got your mom's sense of humor." Nygel said. "What do you want for it?" Raven asked. "Oh, I don't move machine parts anymore. It's too dangerous. How about settling for some herb and moonshine like everybody else?" Nygel asked, taking a seat. "Save the act for someone who doesn't know better. Just tell me what it's gonna take." Raven said. Nygel thought for a second, "I owe a favor to the chief of electrical, and he's got a thing for tough, pretty girls like you." Nygel said Raven scoffed, "You're joking, right?" She said, "I never joke about business, Raven. Kane's watching my every move, so, if I'm gonna do this, you're gonna need to make it worth my while." Nygel said, "By screwing the chief of electrical? I can't do that." Raven replied. "Then I guess you don't need to regulate pressure as badly as you thought you did." Nygel said with attitude. "Go float yourself, Nygel." Raven said she started to walk away, "You know, your mother would've taken that deal. In fact, she did. Many times." Nygel said. Raven went running at her, a man picked her up and pulled her back, "Don't you dare talk about my mother that way!" Raven yelled, "Little girl." Nygel replied, "No! I'll float you, Nygel! Get off me!" Raven yelled as the man dragged her out of the mess, "Bye, little bird!" Nygel called after her.

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The group of delinquents was gathered around Bellamy's tent, "Bring out the girl, Bellamy!" Murphy yelled. 

"Why, Charlotte?" Bellamy asked her. "I was just trying to slay my demons, like you told me." Charlotte tried to explain. "What the hell is she talking about?" Clarke asked with anger. "She misunderstood me. Charlotte, that is not what I meant." Bellamy said. "Bring the girl out now!" Murphy called from outside, "Please don't let them hurt me." Charlotte begged. "If you guys have any bright ideas, speak up." Bellamy said they were silent, "Now you stay quiet." Bellamy said with anger, knowing this was their fault. "Those are your boys out there." Finn tried to argue back. "This is not my fault. If she had listened to me, those idiots would still be building tents." Bellamy argued with him. "You want to build a society, princess? Let's build a society. Bring her out." Murphy yelled from outside. "No! Please, Bellamy." Charlotte begged with tears in her eyes. Bellamy knelt down to her level, "Charlotte, hey, it's gonna be okay. Just stay with them." Bellamy said, looking at Clarke and Finn. Bellamy exited the tent.

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to join us." Murphy said and walked over to Bellamy. "Dial it down and back off." Bellamy said, "Or what? What are you gonna do about me? Hang me?" Murphy asked, "I was just giving the people what they wanted." Bellamy said. "Yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea. Why don't we do that right now?" Murphy said and turned back around to face everyone. "So, who here wants to see the real murderer hung up? All in favor??" Murphy asked, maybe 6 people put their hands up. Murphy turned to the rest of the group, "I see. So, it's okay to string me up for nothing, but when this little bitch confesses, you all let her walk? Cowards! All of you are cowards!" Murphy yelled. Bellamy walked over to him, "Hey, Murphy! Murphy. It's over." Bellamy said. Murphy put his hands up in surrender, "Whatever you say, boss." Murphy said. Bellamy started to walk away when Murphy grabbed a log and whacked him over the head with it, knocking him out. "Son of a bitch! Hey!" Octavia yelled, she tried to attack Murphy but Jasper held her back. Murphy tried to punch Octavia in the face but she ducked and he hit Jasper, knocking him out. Octavia ran to Bellamy, "Come on. Let's get the girl." Murphy said to the few people who would follow him. Murphy threw open the tent flap to find that no one was in it. "Charlotte!" He yelled, turning around. "Charlotte, I know you can hear me! And when I find you, you are gonna pay! Come on." He said to his group.

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There was a long line outside the Medical ward, Raven got in the back and waited for Abby. Abby lead a patient outside and turned to the next one, Raven walked over to her, she coughed. Abby touched the patient on the shoulder to say, give me a second. She walked over to Raven and shined a flashlight into her eyes. "Come on." She said, grabbing Raven's arm and starting to walk away. She turned to the patient, "I'll be right back." She said before walking into the Medical ward. Abby and Raven walked thought the ward, "All those people out there?" Raven asked, worried. "Oxygen deprivation. It's just the beginning. Why are you here?" Abby asked. "I messed up. I can't get the part. Nygel wants me to--" Raven was interrupted, "You went to Nygel?" Abby asked, "Yeah." Raven replied ashamed. "Kane's been trying to get her for years. Did anybody see you?" Abby asked. "I don't know." Raven said she paused for a second. "No. Abby, I'm trying to tell you. We can't launch today." Raven explained. "Are you sure Nygel has the part?" Abby asked, "She can get one, yeah." Raven said. "Okay. I'll take care of it." Abby said with disappointment. "What are you gonna do?" Raven asked. "The less you know, the better." Abby replied Abby walked out.

Abby walked up to Nygel's ration window, "Hello, Dr. Griffin." She said with a smile. "Nygel." Abby replied, she took the food and left morphine on the tray. "Morphine. What do you want for it?" Nygel asked, "Pressure regulator." Abby replied. "I underestimated Raven. How does a girl like that get such a well-connected benefactor?" Nygel asked. Abby noticed Kane standing on the other side of the ration stations. "You have three seconds to decide. Do we have a deal or not?" Abby asked. Nygel took the morphine and Abby walked away, Kane walked to Nygels station. "Attention. The mess hall will be closed tomorrow from 1100 hours to 1200 hours." A voice from the P.A. system said.

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Clarke, Finn, and Charlotte walked through the forest. "It's gonna be night soon, Finn. Where are we going? At least tell me you have a plan and we're not just wandering aimlessly through the woods." Clarke said. "I have a plan." Finn said. CHarlotte tried to tread her fingers threw Clarke but she flinched away. Clarke stopped, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Clarke asked Finn stopped too. "Just because we saved you doesn't mean you're forgiven. Got it?" Clarke asked. Charlotte looked terrified. "Clarke." Finn said. Clarke turned to him, "What?" She asked with anger, "She's just a kid." Finn tried to explain. "She's a killer. You killed someone, Charlotte. Ended his life. Did you stop to think about that for even one second?" Clarke asked. Charlotte looked down with tears in her eyes. "Look at me! You can't just kill someone to make yourself feel better." Clarke said. "Charlotte!" Murphy yelled. "Clarke and Finn can't save you!" He yelled again. Clarke grabbed Charlotte and turned her on the path, "We should run." She said. "Yeah, that's one way to go. I like my plan better." Finn said, lifting the door on a bunker. "Get in." Finn said. The three of them entered the bunker and were enclosed in darkness, Clarke lit a flashlight, gliding it across the bunker. "Finn, what is this place?" Clarke asked, shining the light around. "For now, it's home." Finn replied. 

Finn tucked Charlotte in while Clarke lit more candles. "I can't believe you kept this place quiet." Clarke said. Finn walked over to her, "Come on, Clarke. What would be the point of telling anybody?" Finn asked, "Some of this stuff could be useful." Clarke replied. "Like what? There's no weapons. All the food expired, like, ninety years ago." Finn said. "Yeah, but we could repurpose. Share with the group." Clarke replied. Finn gave her a jar of colored pencils, "You can share this with the group if you'd like." Finn said. Clarke examined the pencils with a smile. Finn sat down on the couch. "What'd you find?" He asked. Clarke sat down next to him, "Well... Looks like they never made it here." Clarke said. "No. I figure the bombs took them by surprise." Finn said, "All this preparation. What a waste." He sighed. "I don't know. Maybe they were lucky. They couldn't have lived more than a few years down here, then when they ran out of food or lost their minds, they would've opened the doors and been dead within a few days. Back then, maybe sooner." Clarke said she looked at him then at Charlotte, "Anyway. What are we gonna do about her? If I hadn't confronted Murphy, none of this would have happened." Clarke said. "How could you know it'd go down like that?" Finn asked, "Bellamy knew." Clarke said, looking up at him. "Our people think the Grounders are a threat. Now we're killing each other. There have to be consequences." Clarke said, "We can't just let them hang people." Finn replied. "No." Clarke said, "Hopefully, we figure it out before Murphy kills us for helping her." Finn said. "He's not the forgive and forget type." He looked her in eyes. 

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Abby handed Raven the pressure regulator. "How did you--" Raven was cut off, "Don't worry about it. How fast can you install it?" Abby asked, "I don't know. A few hours, maybe." Raven said, "We may not have that much time." Abby said, "I'm on it." Raven said, starting to work.

"Our ancestors built this Ark to be our salvation, but it's also our test. But we endure because we have faith. Faith that one day, generations from now, our people will return to the ground." Vera Kane said to the group of people sitting in front of her. Kane entered the room. Vera looked at Kane with hope, "Are you here to join us." She asked, most of the group turned their heads to look at him. "He's here to see me, Vera. Go on with your mumbo-jumbo." Nygel said from where she was playing chess. Her chess partner got up, leaving a seat for Kane. Kane sat down opposite her. "Your mother's inspired today, Marcus. I remember when you were the tender of the tree. You were a cute kid." Nygel said. "Let's begin the offering." Vera said a little boy started handing out tubes of water. "Why did you bring me down here, Nygel? What do you want?" Kane asked, "It's about what you want. I have something for you." Nygel replied. "Unless it's a signed confession, I'm not interested." Kane said, "Not even if it involves your friend Abby Griffin?" Nygel asked, "What about Abby?" Kane asked curiosity peaked. "She and a girl named Raven Reyes asked me to get them a pressure regulator. As a lowly culinary tech, I didn't feel I had a choice when one of your fellow Councilors asked me to help her break the law." Nygel said. "And since when do you give up your customers?" Kane asked, "I don't have customers, Marcus. I am a citizen of The Ark, and I don't believe anyone should be above the law. Do you?" Nygel asked. "You're a plague on this ship, Nygel. And even if what you said is true, it's your word against a member of the Council, and who do you think the people will believe?" Kane asked. Nygel took the morphine out of her pocket and handed it to Kane, "You know... you should thank me. With Abby out the way, your agenda should sail right through." Nygel said. "I don't know what you're talking about." Kane replied, he turned and looked at his mom, "You're almost as convincing as your mother." Nygel said. "As the Earth will one day provide for us, so we provide for the Earth." Vera said as the little poured water onto the tree. "Waste of water if you ask me." Nygel said. "Not to them." Kane replied.

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Clarke slowly woke up, realizing she was sleeping on Finn's shoulder, she smiled. Clarke started to look around, she saw the bed, Charlotte was gone. "Finn. Finn, wake up." She shoved him awake. Finn awoke, Clarke walked over to the bed, "She's gone." Clarke said.

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Clarke and Finn got out of the bunker when someone dropped from the trees next to them, it was Madi. "She went this way." Madi said before leading the way. 

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Charlotte ran through the woods, alone. Bellamy ran out from the trees and grabbed her, he pulled her behind a tree. "Ssh. Ssh." Bellamy said, putting his over her mouth.

"Charlotte! You can't hide forever." Murphy yelled, he and his groupies ran around the woods with torches. "Don't worry. We won't hurt you." Murphy said. Bellamy dragged her through the woods. "Let me go!" Charlotte yelled. Bellamy stopped, "I'm trying--hey, hey. I'm trying to help you." Bellamy said. "I'm not your sister! Just stop helping me!" Charlotte yelled she got out of Bellamy's grip, she ran back towards the light, "I'm over here!" She yelled. Bellamy went after her, "Are you trying to get us both killed?" He asked, "Just go, okay? I'm the one they want." Charlotte said. "Okay, Charlotte, listen to me. I won't leave you." Bellamy said, "Please, Bellamy." Charlotte begged him to go. She broke free of his grip and tried to run, Bellamy grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. She screamed, "Murphy! I'm over here!" She yelled. 

"Come on out, Charlotte! Come on out." Murphy yelled, running through the woods.

Madi bent down holding the torch out, "They were here, this way." Madi said, pointing in the direction Bellamy went, "NO! NO! Murphy!" Charlotte screamed. "Murphy has her." Clarke realized they started running.

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Raven worked on installing the pressure regulator while Abby paced. "Abby, how about I pace in the operating room next time you're working?" Raven said. Abby got a call from Jackson, "Abby, did you take morphine from the clinic?" Jackson asked. Raven looked back at Abby. "They inventoried already?" Abby asked. "No. Kane was just here. He's on his way to Mecha to arrest both of you right now." Jackson said. "You gave Nygel morphine?" Raven asked. "She turned me in. How much longer?" Abby asked, "Twenty minutes." Raven said getting back to work. "They're gonna be here in five. No matter what happens, you launch that pod. Do you understand?" Abby asked. "I'm not going without you." Raven tried to talk sense into her. "Only one of us needs to get to the ground, Raven. The second you find those kids, you radio back. Three hundred innocent people will die if you don't." Abby said. "Abby, they'll float you." Raven said sadly. "Then they'll float me. Tell Clarke I love her." Abby said and walked out.

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Bellamy carried Charlotte till he got to a cliff. "Damn it." Bellamy said. Murphy reached them, "Bellamy." He said. It was raining, "You cannot fight all of us. Give her up." Murphy said, "Maybe not, but I guarantee I'll take a few of you with me." Bellamy said. Madi, Clarke, and Finn came running, "Bellamy! Stop! This has gone too far. Just calm down. We'll talk about this." Clarke said. "I'm sick of listening to you talk." Murphy said, he grabbed Clarke and held a knife to her throat. "Let her go." Madi said calmly. "I will slit her throat." Murphy said. "Let her go." Madi repeated. "Please don't hurt her." Charlotte said. "Don't hurt her? Okay, I'll make you a deal. You come with me right now, I will let her go." Murphy said. "Murphy, this is not happening. I can't let any of you get hurt anymore. Not because of me. Not after what I did." Charlotte said, she jumped off the cliff. Madi jumped after her, able to catch her and keep a hand on the edge of the cliff. Murphy let Clarke go, she and Bellamy pulled Clarke and Charlotte back up onto the hill. Bellamy charged at Murphy. Madi held onto Charlotte. Bellamy started to beat the shit out of Murphy, Clarke ran over to them, "Bellamy. Bellamy. Bellamy, stop! You'll kill him!" Clarke yelled. Finn pulled Bellamy off of Murphy, "Get off me! Uhh! He deserves to die." Bellamy yelled. Clarke stepped in front of him, "No! We don't decide who lives and dies. Not down here." Clarke said, "So help me God, if you say the people have a right to decide--" He was interrupted, "No, I was wrong before, okay? You were right. Sometimes it's dangerous to tell people the truth. But if we're gonna survive down here, we can't just live by whatever the hell we want. We need rules." Clarke said, "And who makes those rules, huh? You?" Bellamy asked, "For now, we make the rules. Okay?" Clarke asked, "So, what, then? We just take him back and pretend like it never happened?" Bellamy asked, "No! We banish him." Clarke said. Bellamy picked Murphy up, "Get up." He said. Bellamy dragged Murphy to the edge of the cliff, "Bellamy, stop." Clarke said. "If I ever catch you near camp, we'll be back here. Understand?" Bellamy asked. Murphy shook his head yes, Bellamy threw him back onto the ground, "As for the four of you, you can come back and follow me, or go off with him to die. Your choice." Bellamy said. 

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"Come on. Come on." Raven said as she finished installing the pressure regulator. 

Kane walked with a few guards.

Raven tested the pressure regulator and air came flying out of it. "No! No! No. No. Damn it. She gave us a bad part." Raven said.

Abby blocked the way of Kane and the guards. "I'm hoping... there's a logical explanation for all this." Kane said, "My daughter." Abby replied, "I know. I'm sorry. We all knew it was a long shot." Kane said, "I still believe." Abby said. "What's the pressure regulator for, Abby? There's no bacteria, is there? Your infected mechanic... Raven Reyes. What's she up to? Did you know that her boyfriend Finn Collins... was one of the hundred? Your obsession... is now gonna get her floated, too. If you don't tell me what you're up to... I won't be able to save her." Kane tried to get her to understand. "You still don't understand. I'm trying to save all of us." Abby replied. "Arrest her. Continue to search for Raven Reyes." Kane said. "Sir," The guard replied. Kane started to walk away. An airlock door opened. Kane walked towards it, "What was that?" He asked. The guard got a transmission from the command center, "Sir, a pod launched." The guard said. Kane walked to Abby, "Abby... what have you done?" Kane asked, "We have to know the truth." Abby replied.

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Madi sat Charlotte down on a log and knelt down in front of her. Bellamy, Clarke, and Finn stood a few meters away. "I know what it like Charlotte, to take a life." Madi said, "The first time I killed a man I was maybe... four," Madi sighed, "It took me a while before I realized the full scope of what I'd done. But I did, I realized that I'd taken a father, son, brother, husband, from someone and it nearly killed me." Madi said sadly, "Then you understand why I did it." Charlotte said with tears in her eyes, "Yeah, Charlotte, I understand why you did it." Madi said, she looked into Charlotte's eyes and smiled, "I've spent every waking moment since trying to make up for the lives I taken. You can't let something like this kill you, this is a time when you gather your strength and say, 'I will live on, and I will make up for my mistakes.' Because I don't want to die knowing I couldn't make up for all the lives I took, and I don't think you want to either." Madi said, "How?" Charlotte asked with tears streaming out of her eyes. Madi wiped her tears away, "I can't answer that question for you Charlotte, you need to figure it out yourself." Madi said softly, "How do you do it?" Charlotte asked, "By helping as many people as I can, and by making sure people don't make the same mistakes I did." Madi replied, "Can you help me?" Charlotte asked, "Of course." Madi replied. Madi got up and turned towards Clarke, Bellamy, and Finn, "If you don't mind, I think she needs to spend some time away from here." Madi said, "I agree." Clarke said, "I'll take her with me." Madi replied. Madi knelt to Charlotte's level, "Go grab your stuff, you're coming home with me." Madi said. Charlotte left, with a smile on her face, "Take care of her." Bellamy asked, "Always." Madi replied.

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The delinquents gathered around Clarke and Bellamy, "That's why we've decided to banish him." Clarke said, "Anybody got a problem with that?" Bellamy asked. 

Clarke, Octavia, and Jasper gathered around Monty, "Will we be able to talk to them?" Clarke asked, "No. More like morse code." Monty replied. "You want to do the honors?" He asked Jasper, Monty handed him the cable, "That port right there." Monty said, pointing to the port. Jasper plugged in the port. The wristband shorted out, affecting all the other wristbands too. Monty looked at the wristband, "What happened?" Clarke asked, "It didn't work. I think we fried all the wristbands." Monty said. Finn looked heartbroken, he walked out of the dropship. Clarke went after Finn.

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Clarke and Finn were in the bunker. Finn was destroying everything. "Finn!" Clarke yelled, he threw a table. "Finn, stop it! Calm down!" Clarke yelled. Clarke grabbed him, "We're dead to them! Don't you get that?" Finn asked, "No, there's still hope." Clarke said, "Even you don't believe that. It's over, Clarke. They're gonna die up there, and we're alone." Finn replied. "We're not alone!" Clarke yelled, "You're not alone." She said. Finn kissed her, she kissed him back, they both started removing clothes.


	6. Twilight's Last Gleaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke's newfound romance with Finn is threatened. Raven lands on Earth, Madi, Clarke, and Finn go to meet her. Octavia suffers a blow to the head and wakes up to find a Grounder watching her. On the Ark, Abby exposes Kane's plan to reduce the population of the Ark. Jaha and Abby notice a signal and realize at least some of the 100 must still be alive on Earth.

Clarke and Finn were lying down on the ground, both naked. "Hey," Finn said. Clarke started combing her hand through his hair, "Hi." Clarke responded. " It's almost dawn. We should probably get going, can't just lie around in bed all day." Clarke said, "Or we could lie just lie around in bed all day." Finn said, "Finn...you know that last night wasn't just about needing someone. I needed you. I wanted it to be you. You understand that, right?" Clarke asked, "Sure. And I should probably tell you that last night, for me, wasn't really about you. I just wanted to have my first Earth sex." They both started laughing, knowing Finn was messing around, "You were around. Passably cute." Finn said. "Jackass." Clarke replied.

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Abby sat on the bed, coughing. The cell door opened, a guard came in. "Prisoner. Step to the rear of the cell." The Sargent said. Abby stood up, leaning against the bed frame. Jaha came into view, "Have we heard from Raven?" Abby asked. Jaha walked into the cell, "You can leave us alone, Sergeant." He said. The Sargent nodded, "Sir." He said before leaving, shutting the door behind him. Jaha handed Abby a tablet, "Has Raven started her descent?" Abby asked. Abby looked at the table, "Environmental numbers." Abby said, "As of this morning, oxygen is down sixteen percent. CO2 and methane are heading to red levels." Jaha informed her. "Our projections said we wouldn't be critical for another three months." Abby said with distress. "Your husband's projections were wrong. The council has granted you work release pending review. Medical is overwhelmed. Dizziness, fatigue, vision problems." Jaha said, "It's pulmonary toxicity. I know how they feel." Abby said. Jaha put a box down on the shelf, "The prison section has been on half-air since midnight." He said he pulled out an oxygen mask. "No. I'm not gonna take more than my share. We start choosing who gets extra O2 and were one step closer to choosing who lives and who dies." Abby said. "Abby...the council approved Kane's population reduction plan three hours ago." Jaha said. "You voted without me?" Abby asked, angry. "We followed the rules of order. It wouldn't have mattered. Their approval was unanimous. We start in twelve hours." Jaha replied. "How many?" Abby asked, "Three hundred and twenty people will be excised from the grid." Jaha told her, "No, murdered, Theolonius. Three hundred and twenty people will be murdered. We need to wait for Raven to report back." Abby pleaded. Jaha held the tablet up, "Look at those numbers. Every hour that passes we put more people in danger." Jaha tried to reason. "She risked her life for those people." Abby said. "No, you risked her life...when you let her believe loving a boy somehow meant trusting her life in a hundred-year-old metal coffin. And that trust is going to kill her. Another child dead, just like all the others. Just like our own." Jaha said, he held out the oxygen mask, "Take this. People are suffering. You can help." He said. Abby took the mask, "Raven will make it to Earth, I know she will." Abby said. "Godspeed to her." Jaha replied. 

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Raven sat in front of the monitors, "Okay. RCS valve" She flipped a switch, "Open." She said. "RCS thrust pressure good." Raven said. She exhaled, "Attitude. Good. Heatshield. Good." Raven said looking at the monitor. Raven flipped a few switches, she put her hand on the 'Retro Fire' lever, "Don't blow up." Raven said she flipped the lever. The pod flew towards Earth.

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Clarke and Finn sat on a rock, looking up at the night sky, "It's so quiet." Clarke said. Finn looked at her, "Hey, where'd you get that shirt?" Finn asked, "Oh, well there were more than just art supplies in the bunker, Finn. We should share." Clarke said, "You should!" A voice called down from the trees, they both looked up, they saw Sofi and Madi sitting in the trees. "What the hell?" Clarke asked, "Sorry, Clarke, Sofi over here can't seem to keep her mouth shut." Madi called out to them. "Wait, are you always following us around?" Clarke asked. "If you're asking if we know you just had sex in that bunker then yes." Sofi said. "Oh my god." Madi said, she put her head in her hands then looked up at Finn and Clarke, "Sofi, I swear to god, you better shut up right now." Madi said, "Or what." Sofi spat back, "I'll tell your sister she can start pranking you again." Madi threatened, "Okay, I'll shut up." Sofi said. "Just pretend we aren't here." Madi called down to Clarke and Finn, "You could just leave." Finn suggested. "I could." Madi replied. Finn looked and Clarke, "I wanted it to be you too." Finn whispered. Clarke kissed him. Clarke looked up, "Finn, look." Clarke said, looking at the shooting star. "A shooting star. You should make a wish." Finn said. Clarke laughed, "Why?" She asked, "It's a thing people used to do a long time ago. I read about it." Finn informed her, "We still do it." Sofi called, "I thought I told you to shut up." Madi said. Clarke and Finn giggled. "But it's just a rock burning up in the atmosphere, why would that make your wish come true?" Clarke asked, "All right. Romance killer." Finn said. Madi looked at the star again, "You know, that looks just like your ship did." Madi said. "That's because it isn't a shooting star." Clarke realized. Madi and Sofi dropped out of the trees and went with Clarke and Finn. 

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"Check it out." A delinquent said. Bellamy came rushing out of his tent, Octavia was looking at the pod. "There." Octavia said, pointing the pod out to Bellamy. "They're coming to help us." Jones said, "Yeah." A few people agreed. "Please tell me they brought down some shampoo." Roma said. 

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Madi and Sofi waited outside the bunker for Clarke and Finn. Clarke blew out a few candles, "We should stop at camp. Get some gear. Weapons." Clarke said, "They send some down? It was too small to be a dropship, I'm thinking cargo pod." Finn said, throwing on his jacket. "No. They wouldn't arm a bunch of juvenile delinquents. It's probably nutrition packs. Medical supplies. There'd be a radio." Clarke said, "We can talk to the Ark." Finn said. "That is if the radio wasn't fried in the landing." Clarke informed him, "That means we're not alone down here anymore. That's a good thing." Finn said. "Yeah, not for Wells. Or Atom." Clarke said. "Nobody thought any of us would survive. But we did. You should take a minute to appreciate that." Finn said. Clarke stopped, "Okay, minutes done." Clarke blew out the last candle.

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Octavia walked into the tent. "If it cleared the ridge than it's probably near the lake." Jones said. "We should get moving. Everyone's ready." Octavia said. "No one's going anywhere. Not while it's dark it isn't safe. We'll head out at first light; pass the word." Bellamy said. The other delinquent left, Octavia blocked Bellamy's exit. "Everyone for a hundred miles saw this thing come down. What if the grounders get to it first? Bell, we should go now." Octavia said, "I said we wait till sunrise." Bellamy said.

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A little girl sat in front of Abby while she did a vision test with a table. "Blue triangle. Orange square. Yellow triangle. Green circle, a little smooshed." Reese said, "That's an oval." Tor told her. "Thanks, Dad. I forget, whose eyes are they testing?" Reese said. "Okay, Reese, now the other eye." Abby said. Reese moved the black circle to her other eye. "Nothing, it's just black." She said. Abby grabbed her little flashlight, "Okay, let me know if you see anything at all." Abby said, she shined the light in Reese's eye, "Are you doing it?" Reese asked. Abby turned off the flashlight, "We're finished. Why don't you wait outside while I talk to your dad." Abby said. Reese jumped off the bed and walked to Ms. Lucy. "Wait." Tor said. Reese walked back over to him, he bent down and pulled her hair back, "Let me get this out of your eyes a little. I don't know how you can see." Tor said, "I can't see; that's why we're here. Duh." Reese replied she walked away with Ms. Lucy. "Don't worry the rolling of the eyes and the attitude doesn't last for long. Ten, fifteen years maybe." Abby said. "It's just an act. She's scared. It's not getting any better." Tor replied. "The decline has been accelerating for the past few days." Abby said, "The air's never been this bad. They're gonna fix it, right? Like always?" Tor asked. "I hope so." Abby said, she walked over to the medical cart, Tor went after her, "Hey, she's a nine-year-old girl. What's she gonna do with the rest of her life blind in this place." Tor asked, "She's strong." Abby replied. "She shouldn't have to be." Tor scoffed and left. Jackson walked over to her, he put his hand on her back, "Hey. You all right?" He asked. Abby leaned against the cart, "I just saw a little girl with optic nerve damage because of chronic oxygen deficiency. She's going blind and I can't do anything about it, so, no, nothing about any of this is right." She said. Abby walked back to the medical bed, Jackson followed, "Hey, you're doing what you can." He said. "Why aren't you monitoring the radio listening for Raven?" Abby asked, "Well, have you looked outside? We're slammed. It's still transmitting the automatic hail." Jackson said, "I'll take care of medical and you listen to that radio. Making contact with the ground is the only way we can really help these people." Abby said.

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Raven was passed out in the pod, "Pod one, Pod one, this Ark station medical. If you are receiving please respond. Pod one, Pod one, this Ark station medical. If you are receiving please respond. Pod one, Pod one, this Ark station medical. If you are receiving-" Abby said.

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Clarke, Finn, Madi, and Sofi walked into the camp, everyone stopped and stared at them, "Why are they looking at us?" Sofi asked, "Because we were born here." Madi replied. Clarke turned to them, "Looks like everybody's up." She said. Fox came over to them, "Did you guys see that? You know it's from the Ark, right? It had to be." Fox said, "Grab your stuff. Let's find out." Clarke responded, "Bellamy said we're gonna wait until sunrise." Fox replied. "Where is he?" Clarke asked. Fox looked towards Bellamy's tent and Clarke and Finn walked away, Fox was asking Madi and Sofi questions about growing up on the ground. Clarke entered Bellamy's tent, "Ever hear of knocking, bitch?" Roma asked, putting on a shirt, Finn walked in, "Oh, great, it's a free show. Anyone else want to take a look?" She asked sarcastically. "Where the hell is Bellamy?" Clarke asked, "He took off a while ago." Roma told her. Finn looked around, "Gears gone." He said. "He told everyone to stay. Whatever's in that thing, he wants it. We've gotta get there before he does." Clarke and Finn left, "You're welcome!" Roma called. Clarke and Finn walked to Sofi and Madi, "Bellamy's gone." Clarke said. "This isn't your fault, Clarke." Finn said, "I should've known he'd go for that radio." Clarke replied, "How are you supposed to know something like that?" Finn asked, "Because he spent every single minute since we landed making sure no one on the Ark finds out were alive." Clarke replied. "That doesn't mean you can predict what people are gonna do." Finn said, "That's exactly what I have to do. I screwed up. Let myself get distracted." Clarke said, "Do you know where he went?" Clarke asked, "I can find out." Madi replied. They started walking into the forest, "Ty!" Madi called, a man jumped down from the trees, "Bellamy Blake?" Madi asked, "He went towards the pod. His sister followed him." Ty said.

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Bellamy ran through the woods, "Bellamy!" Octavia yelled. Bellamy stopped and turned back to look at her, "Go back to camp. It isn't safe." He said. "You lied to everyone. You lied to me. You just want whatever's in that pod." Octavia said with anger. Bellamy shoved her shoulder, "Just go home!" He yelled. Octavia walked back towards him, "You always want to play big brother, huh? Well, guess what? Jokes on me. You're just a selfish dick." Octavia yelled back. "I did this for you! To protect you. If the Ark finds out we're alive, they'll come down. And when they do...I'm dead." Bellamy said, "What did you do?" Octavia asked, "I shot him. I shot Jaha." Bellamy responded. "What?" Octavia asked, "I found out they were sending you to Earth. I couldn't let you go alone. Someone came to me with a deal. Do this, kill him, and they'd get me on the dropship. And I did it." Bellamy explained. "You killed the chancellor?" Octavia asked, "He floated our mother. He locked you up. He deserved it." Bellamy tried to reason. "I didn't ask you to do that." Octavia said. "You're right. I made the choice. This is on me. Whatever they sent down, I'll take care of it." Bellamy said, "I didn't ask for any of this." Octavia said, she left. 

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Jaha sat in front of a chessboard while Kane paced behind him, "At 1930 hours all hatches and vents leading to section seventeen will be sealed. It will appear to be a malfunction of the fire containment system." Kane said, "So it'll look like an accident." Jaha said. Kane stopped pacing, "It's essential to maintaining public order after the culling takes place. All residents of section seventeen will be in their sleep period. The council has already issued a writ of consent, giving the chancellor permission to carry out the population reduction. A sleep-inducing gas will be introduced into the air. On your command, the oxygen supply to section seventeen will be cut off. It should be painless. Document needs your approval." Kane said he handed Jaha the tablet. Jaha took the tablet. "You have it." He said, he signed and handed the tablet back to Kane, "With one alteration. You'll give the order to cut off the oxygen." Jaha said. He stood up, "I don't have the authority." Kane said, "In your capacity as chancellor. Tonight I will be in section seventeen, inspecting repairs to the hull, and when those doors are closed on those people, their fate will be my fate." Jaha said. "Your fate. Don't do this." Kane pleaded. "My mind is made up. I'm leaving you in terrible times, Marcus. But you...you have a strength that is not weakened by sentiment. And that's exactly what is going to take for us to survive." Jaha said.

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Raven was passed out in the pod. "Pod one, Pod one, this Ark station medical. If you are receiving please respond." Abby said over the radio. Bellamy opened the door and took out his knife. "Pod one, Pod one, this Ark station medical. If you are receiving please respond. Pod one, Pod one, this Ark station medical. If you are receiving please respond." Abby said again. Bellamy cut the radio out and shut the door. He walked to the river and threw it in. 

"We should split up." Madi suggested, "I'll go with Sofi." Finn said. Clarke and Madi ran the opposite direction of Finn and Sofi.

Raven started to wake up. She pulled off her gloves then her helmet, she was bleeding from a head injury. "Crap. That's not good." Raven said. Clarke opened the door, "Oh, my god." Clarke said, "You said this was supplies." Madi said. "Hi. I made it?" Raven asked. Clarke smiled and nodded. Raven got out of the pod, she looked up towards the sky. "Aaah. I dreamed it would smell like this. Is this rain?" Raven asked, "Welcome home." Clarke said, "Not home yet." Madi reminded her. Finn came around the corner and stopped, Sofi came behind him. "Raven!" Finn yelled. "Finn," Raven said, they ran to each other. Sofi walked over to Clarke and Madi. Raven and Finn held onto each other. "I knew you couldn't be dead." Raven said. "You're bleeding." Finn said, "I don't care." Raven said and kissed him. "That's cold." Sofi said to Clarke. "I swear to god, Sofi, if I hear another word come out of your mouth." Madi said. "How did you get here?" Finn asked Raven, "You know that big scraphold? The one on K deck?" Raven asked, "You built that from scrap?" Finn asked, "I kind of rebuilt it." Raven said. Finn laughed, "Please, like that's hard. It just needed a couple parts and some love." Raven told him. "You're insane." Finn said. "I'd do more for you and worse. Just like you would for me." Raven said she staggered, the head injury finally getting to her. "Come on, sit down." Finn said leading her to a rock. "Let me get something for that." He said and ran over to Clarke, Madi, and Sofi. Clarke handed Finn a rag, "I'm sorry." Finn said. "Let's not talk about this." Clarke said, "We've known each other our whole lives." Finn said. "That's no explanation." Madi said, "We don't need to talk about this." Clarke said and walked over to Raven, Finn, Madi, and Sofi followed. Finn handed Raven the rag, "She needs to put pressure on her wound." Clarke said, "Thanks." Raven said as Finn handed her the rag. "This is Clarke. She was on the dropship too." Finn introduced Raven to Clarke. Raven stood up, "Clarke? This was all because of your mom." Raven said. "My mom?" Clarke asked, "This was all her plan. We were trying to come down here together. If we waited-- Oh, my God. We couldn't wait because the council was voting whether to kill three hundred people to save air." Raven said, "A- when?" Clarke asked. "Today. We have to tell them you're alive." Raven said. Clarke, Finn, and Raven ran to the pod. "The radio's gone. It must've gotten loose during reentry. I should've strapped it to the A-strut. Stupid!" Raven said and hit the pod. "Bellamy was already here." Madi said, examining the ground.

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Jaha cleared off the chessboard and Abby walked in. "Tell me it's not true." Abby said, "Today there are so many things I wish weren't true." Jaha replied. "Spare me the noble speech. You know what I'm talking about. You joining section seventeen." Abby said, "How could I ask anyone to make a sacrifice that I'm not willing to make myself?" Jaha asked he moved past her into the main living room. "So, you're gonna die peacefully and leave humanity in the hands of Kane? Chancellor Kane?" Abby asked as she walked to him. "Yes. He won't hesitate to do what needs to be done." Jaha said, "Theolonius, this is all happening too fast." Abby said, "We've waited as long as possible."Jaha replied. "There are things we can do to buy us time. We should reconsider forcing an algae bloom to boost oxygen production." Abby pleaded, "You've read the studies. That would only contaminate the water supply." Jaha reasoned, "We can induce people into comas to reduce their resource consumption." Abby tried, "We've gone through all the possibilities. This is the only solution." Jaha explained. "No, it can't be this." Abby said with determination. "I am doing what is right." Jaha said. "You're running away. You think what you're doing is right, but you're a coward." Abby said, she walked past him before turning back, "How are you going to explain it to Wells? How would you tell your son that you let these people die without doing absolutely everything in your power to save them?" Abb asked.

Abby walked into her quarters and locked the door. Abby opened a cabinet and grabbed Jake's recording. "People of the Ark, my name is Jake Griffin. I'm senior environmental engineer and deputy resource officer. Today, I need to talk to you about our future." Jake said from the screen.

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Octavia head a rustling while she was walking back to camp, she stopped and looked around. A bird cawed. She started running, she climbed a hill. Realizing she was out in the open started to run down a different side of the hill, she tripped. Octavia rolled the rest of the way down the hill, knocking herself out and sustaining a blow to the head.

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Bellamy walked through the woods, "Hey!" Clarke yelled. Clarke, Sofi, and Madi reached him first. "Where is it?" Clarke asked, "Hey, princess, you taking a walk in the woods?" Bellamy asked, "They're getting ready to kill three hundred people up there to save oxygen, and I can guarantee you it won't be council members. It'll be working people." Clarke tapped his chest, "Your people." Clarke said. Finn came running in and shoved Bellamy, "Bellamy, where's the radio?" Finn asked. Raven walked over to Madi and Sofi. Bellamy shoved Finn back. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Bellamy replied. "Bellamy Blake? They're looking everywhere for you." Raven said, "Shut up." Bellamy replied. "Looking for him, why?" Clarke asked, "He shot Chancellor Jaha." Raven said. "That's why you took the wristbands. Needed everyone to think we're dead." Clarke pieced together. Bellamy started to walk away, "Hey! Shooter! Where's my radio?" Raven asked she stepped in front of him. "Get out of my way." Bellamy said. Madi could see what was going to happen next and stepped in. She stepped between them, "Calm down." Madi said, "Where's my radio?" Raven asked, "Calm down, Raven." Madi said, "I don't even know who you are." Raven replied. Madi turned to Bellamy, "Please, tell me where the radio is." Madi asked. "Jaha deserved to die." Bellamy said, haunted by his decision. "Yeah, he's not my favorite person either, but he isn't dead." Raven informed them, "What?" Bellamy asked, "You're a lousy shot." Raven said. "Bellamy, you aren't a killer, help save the other 300 of your people. Please, the radio." Madi said, "It's too late." Bellamy said.

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All the screens of the Ark lit up with the same message, "People of the Ark, today I need to talk to you about our future. The things I need to tell you are serious." Jake said

Commander Shumway walked into Kane's room holding a tablet, "Sir, have you been on the network?" He asked, "No." Kane replied. Shumway handed him the tablet. "The Ark is dying. This city in space that has been our sanctuary-" Jake said over the screen. "It's playing everywhere. Tech's trying to shut it down." Shumway said. "We should never have let her out of the cell." Kane said, he walked out of the room.

"Time is running out. This is an undeniable reality, but we have pledged our lives to make sure that humanity does not share that fate. Now, while there's still time, we must come together and face this crisis head-on. I believe it will bring out the best in us. Our strength, our humanity, our faith, that we will come together in this time of uncertainty-" Jake was interrupted by Abby, "My husband was killed for trying to warn us. In twelve hours, three hundred and twenty people will be sacrificed to extend our oxygen supply unless we take action." Abby said. A guard started pounding on the door. "Dr. Abigail Griffin, open this door immediately!" The guard said, "The future doesn't belong to the chancellor or to the council, it belongs to all of us." Abby said and shut off the camera.

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People were searching the river for the radio. Sofi sat down on the riverbank, watching Madi trudge around the river looking for the radio. "What the hell are you doing?" Madi asked, "I'm eating." Sofi replied. Madi walked over to her, she slapped the meat out of her hand, "Help." Madi said, "I don't wanna." Sofi replied, "So childish, you're 16." Madi said, "Doesn't mean I want to spend hours looking for a radio." Sofi replied, "That's it." Madi said she got out of the river and grabbed Sofi, throwing her over her shoulder. Madi walked with a screaming and kicking Sofi into the river, Madi dropped her into the water. Sofi got up, sputtering. "What the hell?" She asked Madi bent down to her level. "Look." Madi said. Raven laughed at them. 

Finn walked over to Clarke, "I should've told you about her." He said, "It's okay." Clarke replied. "I didn't think I'd see her again." Finn tried to explain. "But you wouldn't take off your wristband. You had hope. It's okay, I get it. I was around. Passably cute. And now it's over." Clarke responded. Jones pulled something out of the water, "Hey! I found it!" He said. Everyone ran over to him, Raven took the radio. "Can you fix it?" Clarke asked. "Maybe, but it'll take half the day just to dry out the components to see what's broken." Raven replied. "Like I said, it's too late." Bellamy said. Clarke walked over to Bellamy, "Do you have any idea what you did? Do you even care?!" Clarke asked, "Clarke." Madi said, trying to calm her down. "You asked me to help. I helped." Bellamy responded. "Three hundred people are gonna die today because of you!" Clarke yelled at him. "Hold up. We don't have to talk to the Ark. We just have to let them know we're down here, right?" Raven asked.

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People rushed around the council chamber, trying to find a way to end the mess that Abby had created. Jaha and Abby stood, facing each other. "You've taken an impossible situation and made it worse. This will cause a riot." Jaha said, "Good. Maybe we need one." Abby replied. Kane walked over to them, "Guards are double strength and on station wide alert. I've posted riot teams in all public areas." Kane said to Jaha. "Any reports of unrest?" Jaha asked, "Not yet, but people are gathering. There's a crown of four hundred strong right outside." Kane replied he turned to Abby, "That's what you've done." He added. "All we can do now is determine our best option." Jaha said, "Options? We have no options. We need time, or everyone on this station is going to die. Either by an uprising or by suffocation. Those are the options she's given us." Kane said. A council member walked to Jaha, "Sir, they've sent an emissary to speak with Abby." He whispered. "All right. The people outside are sending someone in to talk to you." He said to Abby. Tor walked into the chamber, "His daughter's a patient of mine." Abby said before walking past them to Tor, "Hey, Doc. I saw your, uh, video thing. Crap news, it sounds like." Tor said. "I'm sorry you had to hear it like that." Abby apologized. "No good way to hear it, right? Anyway...I'm here to volunteer, I'd guess you call it." Tor said and put his ID badge on the table. Jaha walked next to Abby, "Volunteer? For what?" Jaha asked, "Section seventeen, sir. Any way you do the math, some of us are gonna have to jump ship if everyone's gonna make it so...I'm gonna jump." Tor said, "You'd leave Reese without a father?" Abby asked, "This morning, you told me that my daughter was going blind and there was nothing I could do to help her. Turns out there is. Count me in." Tor said and walked out. People started filing in and leaving their ID badges, "Jake was right. It would bring out the best in us." Jaha said.

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Finn and Jones carried the control panel, "We need to launch those flares ASAP if we have any hope of saving those people. Finn, get that control panel to camp." Raven said as she passed them. Arran was working on pulling the figuring circuits out of Raven's ship, "You, pull out those fire circuits in one piece or they won't work." Raven commanded. Raven saw Clarke, "Clarke, can I have a hand?" Raven asked they walked to the back of the ship, Raven handed Clarke a wrench, "Work these bolts here gently. Rocket fuel likes to go boom. We're gonna need power to fire." Raven said, "They're tying in the batteries on the dropship. Should be ready when we get there." Clarke said, "Great. So what's the problem?" Raven asked, "Nothing. I just, uh...Well if we get the rockets to launch, will they see them from the Ark?" Clarke asked with worry. "Like the good book says, it's all about burn time and cloud cover." Raven said and Clarke nodded, "But I know your mom will be watching. I've never seen anyone love someone the way she loves you. You know that, right?" Raven asked. "I did." Clarke replied. Raven shot a questioning look at her, "It complicated." Clarke replied. Madi and Sofi came flying out of the woods and walked to Clarke and Raven, "Anything else you need us to do, Boss?" Madi asked Raven, "Yeah." Raven replied and the three of them walked away. 

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Kane walked into Jaha's room with a tablet, "Here's the final list of volunteers." Kane said and handed him the tablet, "They report to B deck in less than an hour." Kane added. "This is more than enough." Jaha said and walked past Kane, "We rejected almost a hundred. Essential personnel and minors. Abby's announcement proved to be very convincing." Kane replied. Jaha sat down, "I don't think she or her husband convinced anyone. They spoke to something that was already inside of them. The new chancellor should remember that." Jaha put the tablet down and stood back up, walking to the door, "I better get to seventeen. Don't want to be late for my own funeral." Jaha added. "Sir. You don't need to do this now." Kane said, "I know what I'm doing is right for my people. They've inspired me." Jaha replied, "No, they volunteered because you inspired them." Kane reasoned, "Jake Griffin inspired them and I executed him. I executed my friend." Jaha said with regret. "One decision does not define a man. Jake Griffin is gone. You're here. Our survival depends on having a leader who can inspire people to self-sacrifice. You're that man. Not me." Kane explained.

Reese stood facing her father with Ms. Lucy leaning against a pipe, many people passed them in the corridor. "Why do you have to work the double shift? It's not fair." Reese said. "Sorry. Things need to get done. You be good for Ms. Lucy." Tor asked. "Thanks, because I was gonna totally be terrible-" Reese started, "-Shhh-" Tor said, "-If you didn't remind me." Reese finished. Tor moved to clip his daughter's hair back, "Come here." Tor said. Reese evaded him, "Stop it." Reese said. "I can't even see your face." Tor said. "Seriously." Reese replied. "Okay. Just give me a kiss." Tor said Reese kissed him on the cheek and turn to leave, Tor pulled her back. "I love you." He said pulling her into a hug. "I love you, too." Reese replied and left.

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Abby and Kane stood side by side and watched Jaha shake the hands of the men and women who die to keep them alive. "What changed his mind?" Abby asked, "Just the truth. I reminded him that transitioning to a new chancellor would be...destabilizing. We can't afford anymore upheaval." Kane replied, "No, we can't." Abby said. "I left two men monitoring the radio. If there's any word from Raven they'll call down immediately. I gave clear orders." Kane said with the hint of a smile. "Thank you." Abby said. 

Jaha shook hands with Tor, "Mr. Lemkin, I want to thank you for your sacrifice." Jaha said, "Don't. This is for my daughter. You just think about doing right for the people that are left behind." Tor replied.

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The delinquents finished building the bonfire, "It'll work, Raven." Madi reassured her, "How do you know?" Raven asked, "I have faith in you." Madi replied with a smile. Raven activated the control panel. They set up the rockets, and stepped away.

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Jaha watched the screens from the control room, "Sir, all vents and hatchways to section seventeen are closed. We have a hard seal." Sinclair said. Jaha remained quite. "Sir? The order?" Sinclair asked. Jaha walked to his workstation and pressed the button himself, they watched as people started to pass out.

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The delinquents watched the rockets fly towards the sky. 

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"And we hereby commit these souls to the deep who at their last gave all to the world of the living. May they be remembered forever. Until there is no more pain, no more suffering, and the abyss itself shall give up her dead and return them to us." Jaha said. Tor died at that very moment, his last thought of a daughter he would never see again. The Arkers went to bodies of the fallen.

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Madi smiled and called to the trees, "Come on, Morgan." Madi said. A little girl came hopping out of the trees and sat next to Madi on the cliff. "You think they can see it from up there?" Bellamy asked, "I don't know. I hope so. Can you wish on this kind of shooting star?" Clarke asked. Madi chuckled and Bellamy gave them both a weird look, "I wouldn't even know what to wish for. What about you?" Bellamy asked. Clarke looked over at Raven and Finn. "Peace." Madi replied and kissed Morgan on the head.

Octavia slowly woke up, noticing a Grounder standing over her.

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Abby sat on the floor of her prison cell, Jaha entered. "You should sleep." Jaha said and Sat down next to Abby. Abby just stared out the window of her cell. "How?" Abby asked. Jaha took a swig of moonshine and offered the bottle to Abby. "We make the best choices that we can, and then we put our faith in a forgiving God." Jaha replied and took the moonshine back from Abby. "Do you think we deserve to be forgiven?" Abby asked. The flares became visible from the Ark, "Do you see that?" Abby asked. They both looked up and saw the flares.


	7. His Sisters Keeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy leads his crew into Grounder territory as they search for Octavia. Raven can't help but notice the deep connection between Finn and Clarke. Raven turns to Madi about Finn and Clarke. Meanwhile, flashbacks reveal Bellamy and Octavia's childhood on the Ark.

The Ark, 17 years ago

Aurora sat on the bed groaning in pain with a young Bellamy next to her, worrying. "Mom, please, let me get a doctor." Bellamy pleaded. Aurora was gasping with pain, "No! You can't tell anyone. Tell me what happens if you do. Say it." Aurora demanded. "Y-you get floated. I don't understand. Why is it wrong to have more than one baby?" Bellamy asked with confusion. "The Ark couldn't survive. The chancellor can't allow it." Aurora said in pain. "He's, like, the emperor Augustus, right?" Little Bellamy asked. Auror nodded her head with a smile, "That's right. Just like the emperor we read about." She said. Aurora started groaning in pain, "The baby's coming. Get the blanket." She said. Bellamy reached behind her and grabbed the blanket, Aurora pulled the baby out of herself and fell against the bed, she handed the little girl to Bellamy and he wrapped her in the blanket. "My brave boy. You have a sister. You should name her." Aurora said. Bellamy sat next to her against the bed frame, "Augustus had a sister. Octavia." Bellamy named. Octavia started to fuss and cry, "Bellamy, you can't let her cry. Here. Give her to me." Aurora said as Bellamy moved to hand her the baby she started nodding off. "No, mom, mom, you can't fall asleep." Bellamy said, shaking her. "I'm so tired. Your sister. Your responsibility." Aurora said groggily. Octavia started to cry, "Mom, mom, what do I do? Mom!" Bellamy yelled, shaking her as she fell asleep. "Shh! Please! Shh shh shh!" Bellamy begged he placed his index finger in her mouth. "See, I told you. It's okay. I won't let anything bad happen to you, Octavia. I promise." Bellamy declared.

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Bellamy stored through the camp with a torch in hand, "Octavia!" He yelled out. Bellamy opened more tents looking for her, eventually, he got to Clarke's tent. "You're up?" Bellamy asked her. Clarke stood up and walked to Bellamy, "Yeah. Knowing that hundreds of people might be dying on the Ark makes it pretty hard to sleep." Clarke replied. "Raven's flares will work."Bellamy said, "Her radio would've worked better." Clarke said. Bellamy gave her a blank stare before worry overtook him, "Have you seen Octavia?" He asked. "No. It's Octavia. She's probably chasing butterflies." Clarke said, dismissing Bellamy. "Clarke, I've checked the camp. She's not here." Bellamy said. Clarke took a minute to sleep, "Ok. I'll help you find her. Let's check again. You go to the dropship. I'll check the rest of the tents." Clarke said. "Thank you." Bellamy smiled, "Don't thank me. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for Octavia." Clarke replied.

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Octavia slowly woke up, laying down in a cave. She was alone and in pain, she looked around and saw piles of books and toys. Octavia looked down at her left, where she had a major cut when she heard footfalls coming from the light. She tried to stand up and run but the pain made her fall back to the floor. A man came through the tunnel with a glowing hot sword. Octavia put her hand up, "Please! Please, don't hurt me!" She begged. He walked towards her and grabbed her leg, pulling her to him, "Aaah! No!" Octavia screamed. The man ignored her and held her down, "No, please! Nooo! Noooo!" Octavia tried. The man cauterized the wound.

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Bellamy gathered a group of delinquents and placed a cache of weapons on the floor, "Hey, everybody, gather around and grab a weapon. My sister's been out there alone for 12 hours. Arm up. We're not coming back without her." Bellamy declared. "Have you tried asking Madi where she is?" Clarke asked. "If Madi wanted to tell us, she would have." Bellamy said. Madi dropped down from the trees, "I'm trying to teach you a lesson, Bellamy." Madi said. Sofi dropped next to her, "And what's that?" Bellamy asked. "That recklessness always has a price." Madi replied. "I'm not being reckless, I'm trying to find my sister." Bellamy said. "She's safe, Bellamy, and if you don't go looking for her, I'll return her here immediately and unharmed." Madi said. "How long?" Bellamy asked, "A week." Madi replied. "Go float yourself." Bellamy said. "I'll take that as a no then." Madi said and walked to stand next to Clarke. Bellamy stood on Clarke's other side, "We need a tracker." Bellamy said to her. "Finn. Get out here." He called.

Finn turned his head at Bellamy's voice, while Raven was cutting his hair. She turned his head back, "You want to lose an ear? Can't believe you let it get so long in lockup." Raven said cutting more of his hair. "This couldn't wait till morning?" Finn asked. "I was inspired. So... what did you want to talk about?" Raven asked. Finn turned his head towards her and she stopped cutting. "Nothing. It can wait." Finn said and put his head down. Raven grabbed his chin and turned his face back towards her, "That wasn't your 'nothing' face. That was your 'going on a spacewalk' face." Raven said. "No more spacewalks. Get some rest, ok?" Finn said. "'Kay." Raven said before grabbing his face and kissing him. "Finn, we're leaving." Bellamy called. "All right. I'm coming." Finn said. Everyone started walked away as Finn left the tent, he caught Clarke, "Hey, wait." Finn said. Madi and Sofi were watching their exchange, "Awkward." Sofi said. Madi looked at her like she was an idiot. "Nice hair." Clarke replied to Finn. "We should talk about this." Finn replied. "You have a girlfriend, Finn. There's really nothing left to say." Clarke said. "Hey, hold on. It's true. I care about Raven. But you and me, we started something." Finn tried. "It's nothing we can't stop." Clarke replied, "Are you sure? Because I'm not." Finn said with earnest. "Guys, guys. Come here!" One of the delinquents said. Clarke and Finn started moving away from each other, Sofi rolled her eyes, "Just as it was getting good." She complained. Madi shook her head, "What is that? So bright." Another delinquent said. Raven came out of her tent and looked up at the 'shooting stars', "They didn't work. They didn't see the flares." Raven said as they gathered around a fire. "A meteor shower tells you that?" Bellamy asked. "It's not a meteor shower, it's a funeral. Hundreds of bodies being returned to the earth from the ark. This is what it looks like from the other side." Clarke said, she looked to Raven, "They didn't get our message." She said. "I'm sorry." Madi said somberly to Clarke. Raven pushed past Clarke and the others to Bellamy, "This is all because of you!" Raven yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Bellamy. "I helped you find the radio." Bellamy said back. "Yeah, after you jacked it from my pod and trashed it!" Raven yelled. Clarke and Finn held Raven back, "Raven," Madi said. "He knows, Raven, he has to live with it." Clarke said. "All I know is that my sister is out there and I'm gonna find her." Bellamy said. "I told you, she's safe and I will bring her back at the end of the week if you don't go looking for her." Madi said. Bellamy dismissed her, "Finn, you coming?" Bellamy asked. "Yeah." Finn replied. "What are we waiting for? Move out!" Bellamy said and the delinquents walked away. Finn stayed with Raven, Clarke, Madi, and Sofi for a moment. "We have to talk to them. Three hundred won't be enough. The oxygen level will just keep dropping. And if we don't tell them that they can survive down here, They'll kill more people. They have to." Clarke said. "Finn, we gotta go, they're leaving." Jasper said. Finn turned and stood in front of Raven, "I gotta do this. And you should stay and fix the radio, ok?" Finn said. "Fix it? The transmitter's smashed. Unless there's a parts depot down here, we're not talking to the ark." Raven said. They were all silent for a moment until Madi cleared her throat and pointed at the ground. "Art supply store." Clarke said she and Raven shared a look and Raven started to notice the bond between Clarke and Finn. Clarke turned to Raven, "I know a place you might be able to get a transmitter." Clarke said. Raven looked between them again, "Great. It looks like you're coming with me instead." Raven said to Clarke. "We'll join." Sofi volunteered them. "Good." Clarke said. "Finn? We're not gonna find her without you." Jasper said. "Be careful." Finn said to Clarke and Raven, he made to leave but Raven grabbed his arm and pulled him back to her before kissing him. "I love you." Raven said. Finn hesitated for a moment before replying, "I love you, too." He said. The entire time Clarke was looking like she'd rather be anywhere else. Finn left with the search party and Raven turned back to Clarke, Madi, and Sofi, "It's this way." Clarke said and lead the way.

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Octavia woke up again, gasping. She looked around, "Hello?" She asked into the darkness. Octavia sat up, "Is anyone here?" She asked. Octavia relaxed where she realized the man wasn't there. She looked down at the cut in her leg, "He fixed it?" She asked herself. Octavia slowly got to her feet. She walked to the wall, limping, and grabbed an antler. She walked to a tunnel looking for a way out.

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John Mbege walked through the trees with his flashlight, till he eventually got to the edge of a hill and looked down. "Look! Over here!" He yelled to the rest of the group. Bellamy walked up to next to him and others began to join them on the hill, "What is it?" Bellamy asked. John pointed to a strap, "Right there. You see it? Is that Octavia's?" John asked. Bellamy noticed it, "Rope." He said. Finn came running out of the woods as Bellamy grabbed the rope and tied it to a tree. "What are you doing?" Finn asked. "We need the rope to get back up." Bellamy said. "Flashlight." He commanded, John handed him a flashlight and Bellamy started cascading down the hill. He got to the shrub and grabbed the strap, "It's hers." He said and started looked around. "I'm going all the way down." Bellamy called back to the group and went the rest of the way down. Jasper walked to the rope and started lowering himself down. Bellamy shone the flashlight on a rock and touched the substance on it, blood. Jasper jumped down behind him, and Finn after him. They all looked at the rock and the blood, "Someone else was here." Bellamy said. Finn noticed footprints and his eyes followed them, "The prints are deeper going that way. He was carrying her." Finn realized. "All we know is that she's alive, that's what Madi said." Jasper said. 

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While walking through the tunnels Octavia noticed water and moss. She started clawing at it, knowing it could lead to escape. She pulled a rock away and could see moonlight. Octavia used her might to pull away the remaining rocks and moss, she began to pull herself through the hole.

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The delinquents trudged through the forest, following the footprints. They came to a part of the forest decorated by bodies, they were all spoked and stopped. "I don't speak grounder... but I'm pretty sure this means keep out." Finn said. "Let's get out here." A delinquent said, "This is crazy." Another complained. "Can't you wait till the end of the week?" Someone asked. "I outta here." A delinquent stated. "Yeah." Another agreed. Delinquents started walking away and the ones that were left were scared shitless. "Go back if you want. My sister, my responsibility." Bellamy said and started walking again. "I'd walk into hell to find her." Jasper said and walked forward. Finn caught up with Jasper, "I think we just did." He said. 

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The Ark, Many Years Ago

Octavia laughed as she rode around on Bellamy's back. Aurora sat at the desk and watched them with a smile. Bellamy sat Octavia down on the bed, "I want another pony ride." Octavia said with a smile. "You want another one? Ok, you want to go through the jungle or the forest?" Bellamy asked, "I want to see the Ark, Bell. Take me out the door." Octavia begged. Aurora smile left and she looked up at the clock, "That's enough. Both of you. It's time." Aurora said. "But--no. I don't want to! How do you even know?" Octavia asked with a mix of anger and sadness, "Yeah, mom, tell us why you're never surprised by surprise inspections." Bellamy asked annoyance. "Mind yourself, Bellamy Blake. Tell your sister what happens if they find her." Aurora said as Bellamy moved the desk to open the hiding hole, "She knows what happens. You've told her a thousand times. O, you know the drill." Bellamy said, lifting the door to the hiding hole. "I hate the drill. Sometimes I wish I was never even born." Octavia complained. "Stop it, Octavia. I know you're afraid, but fear is a demon. Close your eyes and tell yourself that you are not afraid. That is how you slay the demon." Aurora said with determination. A pounding came for the door, "Say it." Aurora said. "I'm not afraid." Octavia replied. "Good." Aurora said and kissed her cheek. A guard started knocking on the door again. Octavia ran to the bed and grabbed her doll before jumping into the hiding hole. "Open the door, now!" The guard demanded. They closed the hatch and Bellamy put the table and chair back. Aurora opened the door and let the team of guards in. Bellamy looked down at the hatch and noticed the hair of Octavia's doll sticking out. "Miss Blake, by the authority of the council, we're here to perform a random inspection." Inspector Grus said. Bellamy sat down and put his foot over the hair just at a guard walked by, "Inspector Grus, it's good to see you. Your uniform's ready. There you go. Just like new." Aurora said and handed him the jacket. "Do you have something for me?" Aurora asked. Grus grabbed her ass and at his silence, she added, "Bellamy's letter of recommendation." She said. "You think you're guard material, kid? Come here. Let's have a look at you." Grus said. Bellamy didn't move, "I'm good, thanks." Bellamy said. "Bellamy. Stand up. Now." Aurora demanded. Under the floor, Octavia whispered to herself, "I'm not afraid." She said. "I don't think so." Bellamy said. "You want to be in the guard or not? Come here. 3 seconds. 1...2..." Bellamy stood up and purposely knocked over Aurora's crate of sowing materials, which happen to look just like the hair on Octavia's doll. "Bellamy! I'm so sorry, inspector. I--" Aurora was cut, "Don't be. Maybe the guard will make a man out of him. Clean that up." Grus commanded. "Sir." Bellamy responded and started to pick up the mess. The guards filed out the door and Grus turned to Aurora, "Come to my quarters later. He'll get that recommendation." Grus said and walked away.

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"I'm not afraid." Octavia repeated as she climbed her way out of the tunnel. "I'm not afraid." She said as she pulled herself out of the hole and into the daylight.

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Clarke, Raven, Madi, and Sofi walked through the forest. Raven stopped at a flower to admire it "They're so beautiful." Raven said. She looked up at Madi's smile, "What?" She asked. "Some people just can't see nature's beauty." Madi responded with a smile. "I know you just got here yesterday, but we don't have time for this. Come on." Clarke said. "Buzzkill." Sofi said, Raven, laughed and Madi smirked and rolled her eyes. "Hurry up and save the world. You're just like your mom." Raven said and started walking again. "This won't go over well." Sofi whispered to Madi. "Sofi, we're going to have a discussion about when your input is need, and when it's not okay." Madi said. "I'm nothing like my mom." Clarke replied to Raven. "Relax. That's a compliment. Abby's a badass. The pod was her idea. It broke her heart not being able to come down with me, but she never stopped believing you were alive." Raven explained. "Yeah. Mother of the year." Clarke replied sarcastically. "Well, my mom was awol most of my life. When she did show up, it was empty-handed. Pretty sure she had me just to trade in my rations for moonshine." Raven said. "How'd you survive?" Clarke asked. "Boy next door. Finn. He shared his rations. Remembered my birthday. Saved my life. He's my family." Raven said. "You got any family?" Raven asked Madi and Sofi. The atmosphere got heavy, "All my family's dead. Expect Sofi and her sister." Madi said. "Same for me, Madi's all I've got." Sofi said. "Ever fallen in love?" Clarke asked. Madi looked down, "Once." Madi said. "What happened?" Raven asked. "She died." Madi explained. "She?" Clarke asked. "Grow up, Clarke." Madi said. "Who was she?" Raven asked. "My mother." Sofi replied somberly. "I'm sorry." Clarke said. "We've all got a sad story, Clarke." Madi replied. Clarke bent down and opened the hatch.

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Finn sighed as the wandered through the woods, "I got nothing. We lost the trail." Finn said. "Keep looking." Bellamy said. The group started to spread out, John Mbege stood still. A grounder dropped from the trees silently and took him. The entire group was oblivious. "Wandering around aimlessly isn't the way to find your sister. We should backtrack..." Finn said. "I'm not going back." Bellamy said. "Hey, where's John?" Roma asked. "I just saw him a second ago." Jasper responded. "Spread out. He couldn't have gotten that far." Bellamy said. The boys started spreading out when John's lifeless corpse fell in front of them. Finn and Bellamy ran over to his body, throat slit. "They use the trees." Finn realized. "We shouldn't have crossed the boundary." Diggs said. "Now can we go back?" Roma asked. A grounder stared at them from a distance, "There. Right there" Jasper said, pointing to the grounder. "Another one." Diggs said pointing to the second grounder. They were surrounded, "We should run." Finn said. The grounder chased after them. One thing was for sure, the grounders were faster.

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"Let's try this one." Clarke said, carrying over a box. Raven looked around the bunker, "How did you find this place?" Raven asked. Sofi opened her mouth to speak, "Sofi." Madi warned and Sofi closed her mouth. "I didn't. Finn found it." Clarke said. She rummaged through the box, she found a remote-controlled car "Hey, will this work?" Clarke asked. Raven walked over and grabbed the car, "Sweet. Rf. Radiofrequency. If we can just find the controller, we'll be golden." Raven said. "Great." Sofi said and rolled her eyes, "Sofi, just please, try to act your age." Madi asked. "How old are you?" Raven asked. "16." Sofi replied. They all started looking around. Raven noticed a miniature deer on the ground and picked it up, "Finn made this." Raven said. "Oh, uh, yeah. we saw this two-headed deer our first day on the ground. Welcome to paradise, right?" Clarke said, Raven's smile fell as she spoke. "You guys looked really stupid when you were watching it."Sofi said. Madi just shook her head and gave up on trying to get Sofi to shut up. Clarke found the remote control, "Got it." She said. Raven looked at her raven and Clarke's deer. Raven walked over with the deer in hand. Clarke took it from her and put it on the table, Madi took the flashlight from Raven's hand and shone it on the remote control. "Finn always does that. Finds the beauty in the unexpected." Raven said as she took apart the remote control. "Good to go?" Clarke asked. "Hurry up and save the world, right? Yeah. We're good." Raven said. They all left the bunker. 

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The delinquents ran through the forest, "What are we gonna do? They keep heading us off." Diggs asked. "Keep running." Finn said. Bellamy stopped, "I can't run much longer!" Jasper said. Everyone stopped, "I'm not stopping for him!" Diggs said. "I'm sick of running anyway." Bellamy said. "Hey, what are you doing?" Finn asked. "They know where she is." Bellamy said. Diggs kept running, "Diggs, where are you?" Roma called and ran after him. The grounders started chasing Diggs and Roma. "Roma!" Diggs called. Diggs ran right into a tripwire and got a metal pole to the stomach. Roma saw him and stopped dead in her tracks. She screamed and started running, Finn and Bellamy were running after her, "Wait! Roma." Bellamy said. "There could be more. Stop." Finn yelled, he came face to face with Diggs and they all stopped, "They were leading us here. It's the only direction we could run in." Jasper realized. The grounders disappeared, "Hey. Where'd they go?" Finn asked. "After Roma." Bellamy said and started running again.

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Octavia ran through the woods, she heard a scream and stopped. She was looking around when someone silently came up behind her and grabbed her, covering her mouth. Octavia struggled to get out of his grip. He sat them both down behind a tree and they watched as Roma ran by. Octavia tried to yell at Roma but couldn't, she watched as Roma got a spear through the heart. Octavia was quite confused when the man moved his hand and picked her up. 

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Octavia sat at the desk, stitching a jacket when the door opened and Bellamy walked in. "O, you'll never guess what's about to happen." Bellamy said with excitement. "Inspection. I'll get in the hole." Octavia said sadly. "No, no, no, no, no. Sit, sit. This is great." Bellamy said. Bellamy sat in the chair next to Octavia's and faced her, "Please, Bell, I don't want to hear about another amazing moonrise When I'm never gonna be able to see one." Octavia said with resentment. "You're going to see one right now. The unity day masquerade dance starts in 10 minutes. Now, I didn't want to say anything until I was sure my cadet unit was working security. I'm gonna be there watching you the entire time." Bellamy said and handed her a mask. "This is real?" Octavia asked. Bellamy nodded his head and smiled. Octavia put on the mask, "How do I look?" She asked and did a few poses. They both started laughing, "Mysterious." Bellamy replied. "Oh, Bell, what about mom?" Octavia asked with worry. "Hey, will you stop worrying? We'll be back before she even knows you're gone." Bellamy said. Octavia still looked unsure, Bellamy walked to the door and opened it, "Want to go for a walk?" Bellamy asked with a smile, Octavia slowly walked over to him, that door had been a boundary her entire life, walk outside and you die, that's what Octavia had always told herself. They walked out the door, "It's ok." Bellamy said. 

Octavia walked to a window and looked out at Earth and the Moon. They walked into the 'ballroom', Octavia looked around wearily. Jasper emptied a vile into his mouth, "Whoa. Who's that?" Jasper asked. "Another girl who won't notice us." Horace replied. 

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Octavia limped behind the grounder, she stopped at a tree. "My leg. I need to rest." Octavia said. The grounder stopped and turned back to her, he picked her up bridal style and kept walking. "Thank you. You saved my life. That girl back there, I knew her, So, if she's here, then so is my brother. Please, you have to help him, too. They'll kill him." Octavia said. "I know you understand me, one of your people saved my life, Madi." Octavia said. The grounder still didn't say a word. The grounder carried her back to the cave and opened the door. 

The grounder carried her through the cave into the room she was in earlier, "Why are you taking care of me? You found me at the bottom of that ravine. Fixed my knee." Octavia said. The grounder walked over and put her in chains, "What the hell are you doing? Please don't do this." Octavia begged. Lincoln dragged her to the wall, "Aah! Stop it! No, stop it! Stop! Please! Please don't do this." Octavia pleaded. Lincoln didn't listen and chained her to the wall, Octavia started crying.

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Finn, Jasper, Bellamy, and Monroe walked through the forest looking for Roma. Monroe noticed her shoulder, "There she is. Roma!" Monroe called. Bellamy ran to her first and noticed the spear in her chest. "They're playing with us." Finn said. Bellamy closed Roma's eyes, "She only came because of me." Bellamy said somberly. "They can kill us whenever they want." Finn said. "Why would Madi do this?" Jasper asked. "I don't think this was Madi." Finn said. Grounders started surrounding them. "Bellamy..." Monroe warned. They went back to back in a circle. Just as the grounders started running at them, a horn sounded. The grounders stopped and ran the other way, to find somewhere to hide. "They're leaving." Bellamy said as another horn blew. "That horn. What does it mean?" Monroe asked. "Acid fog." Jasper and Finn said at the same time, Finn pulled a tent out of his bag. "We have to run." Monroe said. "There's no time." Finn replied and set the tent up.

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Octavia danced around, a boy danced over to her, "Nice eyes. What station are you from?" He asked. Octavia flipped her hair in his face playfully. The music suddenly shut off and lights went on. "Solar flare alert. An x-class solar flare has begun on the starboard side of the ark. All citizens must report to the nearest shelter zone immediately. This is not a test. This is a solar flare alert." A woman said over the PA, people started removing their masks. Bellamy grabbed Octavia's wrist and guided her to a door, but there were guards blocking that exit. "Bell, I need to get home!" Octavia insisted. "You will." Bellamy said as he dragged her to another exit. Their exit was blocked by commander Shumway. "Ladies and gentlemen, you know the drill. Masks off. I.D. Chips out." Shumway demanded. Bellamy Octavia stopped, "Bell, what do we do?" Octavia asked. "Listen to me. Whatever happens, You get back home and get under the floor. You'll be safe there from the flare, like always." Bellamy said. "What are you gonna do?" Octavia asked. "Create a distraction. Go on." Bellamy said taking out his shock baton. Octavia grabbed his arm, "Bell, how do I get home?" She asked. Shumway turned towards them, "Cadet Blake. Why is your weapon out?" He asked. Shumway noticed Octavia's masked, he pulled it off her face, "Mask off." He said. Bellamy stepped in front of Octavia, "Sir, she's--she's fine. I already scanned her." Bellamy said. Shumway looked down at his hands, "You don't have a scanner. I.D. please." Shumway asked. "Please, lieutenant Shumway, I'm begging you, she needs to leave. As a fellow guardsman... just let us walk out of here And I'll do anything you want. Anything." Bellamy said. "You are not a guardsman yet cadet. I.D. Now." Shumway demanded. Octavia ran past Shumway, "Stop her!" Shumway yelled, two guards grabbed her. 

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Bellamy, Finn, Jasper, and Monroe laid in the tent, "How long are we supposed to wait?" Jasper asked. "Will this even work?" Monroe asked. "We'll find out." Finn answered. "No, we won't." Bellamy said and opened the tent's flap and stuck his head out, "There's no fog." Bellamy said with confusion. They all got out of the tent, "Maybe it was a false alarm." Finn said. They noticed a grounder. "They're coming back." Bellamy said. They couldn't see anyone else, "I think he's alone." Jasper said. They watched the grounder run the other way, "Now can we run?" Monroe asked. "He doesn't see us. I'm going after him." Bellamy said. "And what? Kill him?" Finn asked. "No. Catch him. Make him tell me where Octavia is, Then kill him." Bellamy replied and started after the grounder. "How do we know he's not leading us to another trap?" Jasper asked. "We don't." Finn replied and ran after Bellamy.

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Raven sat in the dropship tinkering with Madi meditating on a bench and Sofi playing with her dagger. "I'll be you my knife I can hit an apple off your head." Sofi said. Madi kept her eyes closed, "I'd take that bet, but I don't want to lose an eye." Madi replied. Clarke walked in, "How's it coming?" Clarke asked. Raven was smiling, listening to Sofi drown on and Madi getting increasingly annoyed, but when Clarke walked in her smile fell. Raven didn't say anything and kept working, "Are you ok? You hardly said a word the whole way back from the bunker. Raven..." Clarke asked. Raven dropped her tool, stood up and faced Clarke, "Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me Finn didn't make this for you. Tell me you weren't screwing my boyfriend as I was risking my ass to come down here." Raven said. Clarke was silent, Raven turned to Madi, "Madi?" She asked. "I'm not going to lie for you, Clarke. It's true, Raven." Madi said looking her in the eyes. Raven turned back to Clarke, "He made one for me, too. Just in case you thought you were special." Raven said and turned back to her workbench. Sofi looked super interested and Madi took her knife from her before she could accidentally hurt herself. "Do you think I wanted this? I didn't even know you existed. Look, as far as he knew you were dead, Raven. Or you would have been soon enough. My mom, too, and everyone we ever knew on the ark, And there was nothing we could do to stop it." Clarke said, "How long?" Raven asked turning to Madi, "Excuse me?" Madi asked. "How long did you wait to have sex after Sofi's mom died?" Raven asked. Madi looked down, "Two years." Madi said with an exhale. "He could've waited more than 10 days. Do you love him?" Raven asked Clarke. "I hardly know him." Clarke responded and walked out. Raven sat back down and let a tear fall from her eye, she tore off her necklace and threw it at the table. "Raven, how can I help?" Madi asked and walked over to her. "Stay." Raven said. "There's nowhere I'd rather be." Madi replied with a smile and sat down next to her.

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Lincoln walked into the cave and set his spear down. He stepped to Octavia and knelt down behind her. She hit him over the head with a rock and stood up, Lincoln was still awake, he reached out to Octavia, she hit him over the head again. Lincoln was knocked out cold. Octavia noticed the key in his hands and took. She started to unlock the lock when she heard footsteps. Bellamy came through the cave entrance, "Octavia." Bellamy said, "Bellamy?" Octavia asked. Bellamy ran to her, "Get the key." Octavia said. Bellamy picked up the key and unlocked the lock, "Monroe, watch the entrance." Bellamy said. He unlocked Octavia and she hugged him, "It's okay, you're okay." Bellamy said as he held his sister. Lincoln's eyes opened

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The Ark, a few weeks ago

Bellamy walked into his quarters, they were no longer decorated with Octavia's stuff or Aurora's motherly love. Just a clean slate, completely empty. A knock came from the door, Bellamy opened it. Commander Shumway was standing there, "Cadet Blake." Shumway said. "It's Janitor Blake now, lieutenant." Bellamy said. "Commander. A lot's changed in the past year. May I?" Shumway asked, not bothering for a response and walking into Bellamy's quarters. "You've got some nerve coming here after pushing the button that floated my mother." Bellamy said. "I was following orders." Shumway replied. "What the hell do you want from me?" Bellamy asked. "You were a hell of a guardsman, Smart, hardworking, resourceful." Shumway said. "I wasn't a guardsman. That's what you said. I remember." Bellamy replied. "You also said you'd do anything to protect your sister. I remember, too. I hope that's still true." Shumway said, already knowing the answer. "Is she ok?" Bellamy asked. "What I'm about to tell you is classified. Chancellor Jaha has approved a mission to earth. He's sending the juvenile prisoners to the ground. 100 of them. Your sister included." Shumway informed. "N-no. You can't. It's not safe. You have to stop them." Bellamy demanded. "I wish I could. What I can do is get you a seat on that dropship. You're right. It's doubtful those kids will survive, but if you're there, At least Octavia won't be alone." Shumway played to his emotions. "What do I have to do?" Bellamy asked. "Kill the Chancellor." Shumway replied, offering him a gun, Bellamy took the gun and pointed it at Shumway. "How about I kill you instead?" Bellamy said. "Kill me and your sister goes alone to a radiation-soaked planet and you get floated like your mother. Ship launches in 20 minutes, Bellamy. If you're gonna do this, we have to leave. Right now." Shumway said.

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Octavia let go of Bellamy, "How did you find me?" Octavia asked, running to hug Jasper, "Followed him." Jasper replied, embracing her. "We should go. Now. Before he wakes up." Octavia said. "He's not gonna wake up." Bellamy said and grabbed the spear. Octavia stepped in front of him, "Bellamy, stop. He didn't hurt me. Let's just go." Octavia begged. Finn knelt down over Lincoln's body. "They started this. Finn. Move." Bellamy demanded. Finn noticed a horn, "Foghorn." He said. Lincoln flipped over and stabbed Finn, knocking Bellamy over in the process. Bellamy and Lincoln fought over the spear. Lincoln was able to get the advantage and pushed Bellamy onto his back and pointed the spear at his throat. "Stop! That's my brother!" Octavia yelled. Jasper knocked Lincoln out with a metal bar. They all went to Finn.

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"Clarke! Where's Clarke? Get Clarke now." Jasper yelled as they got into camp. Clarke came running over, "Hey. I'm here. What's up?" Clarke asked. Bellamy carried Finn into camp, "Finn. Finn? Oh, my god. Oh, oh, my god." Clarke worried. Raven, Madi, and Sofi ran over. "Oh, my god." Raven said, noticing the knife. "He's alive." Clarke said. "Bellamy wouldn't let me take the knife out." Jasper said. "No, that was a good call. Get him in the dropship now. Go!" Some boys carried Finn into the dropship. "You're missing three people." Madi said. "They're dead." Bellamy said. "You knew this would happen, didn't you? Recklessness has consequences?" Bellamy accused. "If I knew anyone was going to die I would've stopped you." Madi said. "What changed?" Sofi asked. "Find out, talk to Indra. Tell our people not to do anything, no matter what they hear." Madi said in Trig. Sofi nodded and ran out of the camp. "What the hell did you say to her?" Bellamy asked. "I simply asked a question, she's going to find the answer." Madi said. "Enough." Clarke said. "Can you save him?" Raven asked. "No. Not me. I need my mother. I need to talk to her." Clarke said. "There's still no radio." Raven informed. "Raven, fix it! Go!" Clarke said and Raven ran to the dropship. Clarke started to the dropship but Octavia came out of the trees in front of her. "Hey, you ok?" Clarke asked. "Ok. Yeah. Just go." Octavia said and Clarke ran to the dropship. "Lock them both up." Bellamy commanded a few delinquents to lock up Madi and Lincoln. He then turned his attention to Octavia, who was walking out of camp. Bellamy walked after her, "Hey. Hey. Why were you defending him?" Bellamy asked, catching up with Octavia. "Because he saved my life. That spear that hit Roma was actually meant--" Octavia was cut off, "No, you're wrong. I saved your life. For all you know, he was keeping you alive to use you as bait for one of their traps." Bellamy said. "No. I don't think so." Octavia said. "You don't think, O! That's the problem. They killed 3 of our people today. And if you would've let me kill him when I had the chance, Finn wouldn't be in there dying right now." Bellamy steamed. "Stop blaming me for your mistakes. What happened to Finn is not my fault. I wanted to leave, so if Finn dies in there, that's on you. Everything that's gone wrong is because of you. You got me locked up on the Ark. You wanted me to go to that stupid dance. You got mom killed!" Octavia yelled. "Me?" Bellamy asked with a sniffle, "Mom was floated for having you. She's dead because you're alive. That was her choice. I didn't have a choice. My life ended the day you were born." Bellamy said. Octavia went to leave, but Bellamy pulled her back, "Where do you think you're going?" Bellamy asked. "You can't keep me locked up in here forever." Octavia replied and walked back into camp.


	8. Contents Under Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Raven make contact with the Ark, and Abby guides Clarke through a dangerous procedure in a desperate move to save one of their own. Meanwhile, on the Ark, Abby is removed from the council and former Chancellor Diana Sydney takes her place. Jaha reveals to Abby that there are not enough drop ships for everyone on the Ark to go down to Earth and Kane deals with his guilt over his recent decision.

Rain was coming down in loads, boys were holding up a tarp. "Hold it back!" A boy yelled. "I got it!" Someone screamed back. Clarke watched them from inside the dropship, "This is Raven Reyes. Calling Ark Station." Raven said into the radio. Clarke walked over to her. "Come in Ark Station. This is Raven Reyes. Calling Ark Station. Please come in. Please, please. Can anybody hear me?" Raven tried again. "Are you sure you have the right station?" Monroe asked. "Yeah, I'm sure." Raven said with annoyance. "Raven? You can do this. Okay?" Clarke said and walked to Finn. She started re-wrapping his wound. "Calling Ark Station. Ark station. Please come in. I'm on the ground with the hundred." Raven said, she looked over at Finn, "We need you." 

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Abby stood in front of the council, as Kane walked around reading her rap sheet. "Thefts of medical supplies. Illegal salvaging. Unauthorized ship launch. Pirating the Ark's comm systems. Each of these crimes is punishable by death, but that will not be your fate today." Kane said. Abby looked visibly relieved. They all heard some radio static. "What was that?" A councilman asked. "Never mind. It was argued, convincingly, that your medical expertise is still required." Kane explained. Abby turned to Jaha, "Thank you." She said. "It wasn't me." Jaha said. Abby looked around, surprised that these people who had never let a single crime go unpunished by death would let her live. "The council's vote was nearly unanimous. Apparently, Jake's message woke their inner angels as well." Jaha added at Abby's surprise. Kane sat down and Abby grabbed her chain to sit down. Jaha put his hand up, stopping her, "Not so fast." He said. "We need to talk about those flares." Abby said. "No, we don't." Jaha replied. "You saw them too. We can't just ignore what we all know it means." Abby said. "We don't know what it means." Kane lied. "It means, that there is somebody alive on Earth. It means that our children might still be alive." Abby said. "More false hope." Kane insisted. That same radio static could be heard, making many council members lookup. "Abby, those flashes could have been anything. Lightning, radiation in the atmosphere." Kane tried to convince. "And in any case, whatever they were, that's a matter for the council to decide. And you are no longer on the council." Jaha said. Abby looked surprised and affronted. Jaha got up and walk over to her, "Abby, your life has been spared. But you've been stripped of your seat at this table, effective immediately. Your pin." Jaha said and held out his hand. Abby unpinned her pin and put it in Jaha's hand. They all heard the static again, "There it is again." The councilman said. "Calling...Ark... Stat- Could- The Ark Station." Raven said over the radio. "Raven. She's still alive." Abby realized. "Are you there? Please come in." Raven said over the radio. Abby ran out the door, Kane and Jaha ran after her. While running they realized Raven's message was transmitting to the entire Ark. "This is a restricted station. Who is this? Please identify yourself." Sinclair told Raven. "This is Raven Reyes. I- I'm from Mecha Station. I'm transmitting from the ground. The hundred are alive. Please, you need to get Doctor Abby Griffin. Doctor Abby Griffin. Now." Raven said. Abby ran into the command center, "Hang on Raven, we're trying to boost your signal." Sinclair said, he turned off the mic, "Get her off the Ark-wide channel. This room only. Copy?" Sinclair asked. Abby walked to a terminal, "Can she hear me?" Abby asked. Kane and Jaha walked in, "Have you confirmed the signal's location?" Jaha asked. "Yes sir, it's coming from Earth." Sinclair confirmed. Jaha and Kane looked amazed. "Raven? Are you there?" Abby asked. For a moment they could only hear static, "Mom? Mom, it's me." Clarke said over the radio. "...Clarke?" Abby asked. "Mom, I need your help. One of our people was stabbed by a Grounder." Clarke said. Jaha leaned towards the mic, "Clarke. This is the Chancellor. Are you saying there are survivors on the ground?" Jaha asked. "Yes, the Earth is survivable. We're not alone." Clarke said. Everyone in the room was stunned. "Mom, he's dying. The knife is still in his chest." Clarke pleaded. "Okay, can you patch me through to medical?" Abby asked Sinclair. "Course." Sinclair replied. Jaha went to the mic, "Clarke. Is my son with you?" Jaha asked. There was a long pause before Clarke responded, "I'm so sorry. Wells is- Wells is dead." Clarke said over the radio. Jaha was pained, Abby put her hand on his shoulder but Jaha moved away. "Clarke needs you." Jaha said to Abby then turned to Sinclair, "Patch her into me when they're finished." He said and walked away. "I'm going to talk you through it, step by step." Abby said.

"Clarke... just... find-" Abby was cutting out because of the storm, "What! Raven, what's wrong?" Clarke asked. Raven checked the radio, "It's not the radio, it's the storm." She said, panicked. 

"Doctor Griffin, you should look at this." Sinclair said, bringing up a live feed of Earth. "It's a hurricane right on top of them." Sinclair explained. Abby walked to the radio, "Clarke, we need to hurry." She said.

Octavia walked into the dropship with two canisters, she handed one to Clarke. Clarke opened the canister and smelt it, "Ugh. Monty's moonshine?" Clarke asked. "Pretty sure no germ could survive it." Octavia replied they started emptying the moonshine into a pot. A lighting crack could be heard, "Storm's getting worse. Monroe, close the doors." Clarke commanded. "But we still have people out there." Monroe said. "Monty and Jasper still aren't back yet. Neither is Bellamy." Octavia said. "It's okay, they'll find somewhere to ride it out." Clarke replied. Raven came running over, holding out a needle. "Look. One suture needle." Raven said. Clarke took the needle and put it in a sterilized place. "Great, I still need something to close the wound." Clarke said, "There's some wire on the second level. I used it for the tents." Octavia informed. "Let's see it." Clarke asked her to get the wire. "Stay away from the blue wires that run through the ceiling. I rigged it to the solar cells in the roof." Raven said Octavia started walking away. "That means they're hot! You got that?" Raven asked loudly. "Yeah, I got that." Octavia replied and went up the ladder. Clarke and Raven faced each other, "Tell me you can do this." Raven asked. Clarke was silent, "Hey! They're back!" Monroe said. Bellamy walked in with two people dragging Lincoln and Madi walking with two people who had knives at her back. "Bellamy." Octavia said and jumped off the ladder. The two boys carrying Lincoln dropped him, Madi rolled her eyes. "What the hell are you doing?" Octavia asked. "It's time to get some answers." Bellamy said. "You know I can still hear right?" Madi asked with her blindfold on. "Shut up." A delinquent said and punched her in the face, Madi spat out the blood, "My six-year-old hits harder than you." She said and a few people chuckled. The boy went to attack her again but was held back. "You mean revenge?" Octavia asked. "I mean 'intel'." Bellamy said he turned to the boys hold Madi and the ones who were dragging Lincoln, "Get them upstairs." He said. Clarke walked to Bellamy, "Bellamy, she's right." Clarke said. Abby's voice came from the radio, "Clarke, honey, we're ready. Can you hear me?" Abby asked. "Look, this is not who we are." Clarke told Bellamy. "Clarke?" Abby asked. "It is now." Bellamy said. He walked away leaving a worried Clarke behind. 

Clarke turned back to Finn's body, "The blade is at a sharp upward angle. Between his sixth and seventh rib." Clarke said to Abby. "Okay, how deep?" Abby asked. "Well, I can't tell how deep it goes." Clarke replied. Raven started pacing, "That's alright, just don't remove the knife yet." Abby said. Clarke grabbed the moonshine and sterilized her hands, before handing the container to Raven, "Hey, here, sterilize your hands." Clarke said. Raven took a big sip of the moonshine and sterilized her hands. "Clarke, do you see any fluid?" Abby asked, drowning out Abby's voice. "Damn it." Clarke said, she turned to Raven, "Clear the room." Clarke said. Raven nodded and walked to the delinquents, "Everyone! Upstairs! Now! Let's go!" Raven yelled. People started climbing up the ladder. Clarke felt Finn's forehead, "He feels a little warm." Clarke said. Raven walked back to Finn. "That's alright, fever sometimes accompanies a trauma. Clarke, I need you to tell me if there is any fluid leaking from the wound." Abby said. "Uhh..." Clarke said and unwrapped the cloth that was around the dagger, she examined the wound. Noticing no visible liquid, other then blood she responded. "No." Clarke said. "Pleural membrane's intact." Abby said under her breath. "That's good. That's actually really good. He got lucky." Abby informed. Raven bent over Finn, "Hear that? You're lucky." She said. Clarke looked very uncomfortable. 

Madi was completely relaxed in her bonds, Lincoln not so much. He woke with a start, struggling to get out of his bonds. "Tie him tighter. Last thing we need is this bastard escaping because you screwed up." Bellamy said. Octavia turned towards the tied up Madi and Lincoln, looking horrified. "Octavia, get out of here!" Bellamy said. Octavia walked and faced him, "I told you, he was protecting me. You didn't have to do this." Octavia said. "This isn't about you, I'm doing this for all of us." Bellamy said. Octavia looked at Lincoln's face which was covered in blood, and to Madi who had also been repeatedly punched. "You did that for all of us?" Octavia asked. "I did that for Finn and John and Diggs and Roma." Bellamy said. "It wasn't them." Octavia said. "You don't know that! We need to know what we're up against. How many there are and why they're killing us. And they're gonna tell us right now." Bellamy said and walked to Lincoln. "No, Bellamy, please!" Octavia begged. "Drew, Miller take her downstairs." Bellamy said. Drew and Miller grabbed her, but Octavia wrestled free. "I don't even think he speaks English, he won't understand you." Octavia said and went downstairs. "But you will." Bellamy said and turned to Madi. 

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Jaha sat in his quarters and watched the plan for Project Exodus. A knock was heard on the door. Jaha walked to the door and opened it, "Hello Mr. Chancellor, I just need a moment-" Diana was cut off, "If you are here to talk about Abby's council seat now is not a good time." Jaha said. "Trust me you need to hear this." Diana said. Jaha let her in. Diana walked around his quarters, "I remember these quarters being bigger when I was Chancellor." She said. "What do you want, Diana?" Jaha asked. "We need to talk. My people are angry and confused." Diana said. Jaha walked around her and sat at his desk, "Your people?" He asked. "Yes, the workers. They're coming to me with dangerous questions, Thelonious, many of them lost loved ones in The Culling. The belief that your administration let people die when there was another way has taken root." Diana informed. "I don't suppose you've tried to convince them otherwise." Jaha said. "If you don't get in front of these rumors, things are going to get ugly, fast. That's would I would do in your position." Diana said. "You're not in my position, Diana. My people voted you out." Jaha said. Diana turned to leave, but noticed the tablet, "You've activated project Exodus?" She asked. Jaha quickly went over and turned off the tablet. "Congratulations, you will be forever remembered as the man who brought us back to the ground." Diana congratulated. "You know I can't talk to you about that, Diana." Jaha said. "It's true we've had our differences but I'm here as an ally. The decisions that you must make implementing project Exodus are unimaginable. The Ark needs unity now more than ever. I hope that you can trust me enough to let me help you with that." Diana said.

Jackson looked down at the tablet, "Abby we have a problem, look. If she is just a hair off she could lacerate the aorta when she extracts." Jackson and showed her the image. "Ok Clarke, firm grip on the knife. You're gonna need to angle it upward to the left very slightly to the left as it exits the rib cage." Abby explained. "How very slightly?" Clarke asked. "3 millimeters. Any more would be bad, any less too." Jackson said. "3 mil--." Abby said into the radio, it started crackling. "Clarke-?" Abby asked. 

"Wait what was that you dropped out?" Clarke asked into the radio. "Clarke, 3 millimeters you got it?" Abby said. "Yeah, I got it. Here it goes." Clarke said, "Steady hand Clarke. You've assisted me on tricker procedures than this. Once that knife is out the hard part is over." Abby said. Lightning could be head and the structure started shaking. "Alright, extracting now." Clarke said, she gripped the knife and place her hand on Finn's ribcage. Finn started to move, "He's waking up!" Raven said. Finn's eyes opened, he started screaming in pain and breathing heavily. "Hold him still. Finn, I'm gonna get that knife out of you, ok?" Clarke asked, still holding the knife. Raven held Finn down. "Good plan." Finn said. "Finn, you can't move you got it?" Clarke asked. "Unhu." Finn said, "Good. Here goes." Clarke said and started removing the knife. "Nice and slow, Clarke." Abby said. "Finn, do not move. I almost got it. Finn, hold still." Clarke said. The knife was mostly out. A bang threw them all from where they were, with trees now sticking through the side of the dropship. "Clarke?" Abby asked. Clarke slowly got up, still holding the knife. "Clarke! Clarke! What's happening? Clarke, can you hear us? Clarke?" Abby asked. Clarke looked at Finn who was laying on the ground and holding his wound. "It's out. She did it." Raven said.

Bellamy grabbed a lantern and put it back on the shelf, "What the hell was that? We under attack or not?" Bellamy asked. "Storm damage, we're ok." Drew replied. "We're gonna try this one last time. What's your name? Where's your camp? How many of you are there?" Bellamy asked Lincoln, he had basically given up on trying to get Madi to talk. "Check it out." Miller said, holding a container full of vials. Bellamy and Drew walked to him and looked at the vials. "What is all this stuff?" Miller asked. "Who the hell knows with these people?" Bellamy asked. Bellamy picked up Lincoln's journal and Lincoln tried to break free. "Bellamy, stop." Madi said. "She speaks." Bellamy said and opened the journal, he flipped through the pages of drawings, eventually landing on the one of Octavia. Bellamy looked through the other pages, he saw their camp and stopped. "It's our camp. Guessing that all those marks add up to 102. 10 are crossed out. That's how many people we've lost. You've been watching us ever since we got here." Bellamy said and walked to Lincoln. "So have we." Madi said. 

Clarke finished stitching Finn's wound. "Ok, I'm done." Clarke said and whipped her hands off. "Good. Do you have anything to cover the wound?" Abby asked. "We'll make do, like always." Clarke replied. "Should he be this pale?" Raven asked. "He's lost a lot of blood Raven, but if your boyfriend is anywhere near as tough as you I'm sure he'll be fine." Abby said. "Wait, mom, she's right. He's feverish and his breathing is uneven." Clarke said, feeling his chest. "You need to give him some time to recover. Let me know if he gets any worse but I think he might just be out of the woods." Abby said. "Well, down here there's nothing but woods. I need a break." Clarke said and got up, walking to the ladder. "Clarke. Clarke, wait. Raven, could you give us a few minutes?" Abby asked. "Sure-" Raven was cut off, "No, no. Stay with Finn." Clarke said.

Bellamy was still looking through Lincoln's journal. "What the hell is that thing?" Drew asked, looking at a picture of a man in what looked like a Gilly suit. "Friend of yours?" Miller asked. Clarke walked in and Drew blocked her way, "Get the hell out of my way." Clarke said. "It's ok. Let her through." Bellamy said. Drew moved and let Clarke trough, her gaze traveled from an angry Lincoln to a mediating Madi. "Well if they didn't hate us before, they do now." Clarke said. "Who cares? How's Finn?" Bellamy asked. "Alive. Their people will care! How long until they found out where we're keeping them? And what happens when they do, I mean when they come looking for them. They will, Bellamy." Clarke said. "My people already know I'm here, Clarke." Madi said. "What?" Bellamy asked. "We've been watching you, my people already know I'm gone. Sofi, Ty, I'm a clan leader, we don't just go missing." Madi said. "Do you really want to start a war?" Madi asked. "We're fighting a war." Bellamy said. "We're not soldiers, Bellamy. Look at them, we can't win." Clarke said. "You're right we can't, if we don't fight." Bellamy argued. "Clarke! He's seizing!" Raven yelled. "On my way!" Clarke yelled and went down the ladder. Bellamy shut the hatch behind her. Finn was sizing violently on the table, and Raven was standing still, Clarke walked past her. "He was fine and then..." Raven said. Clarke held Finn down, "Get my mom on the radio now!" Clarke yelled. "The radio is dead, interference from the storm. Please don't let him die." Raven begged. 

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There were items of the deceased laying on the table around the Eden tree. Kane walked into the memorial. Everyone watched him walk to the tree, Vera Kane walked over. "Marcus, you shouldn't be here." Vera said. "You're wrong mom, this is exactly where I should be." Kane replied. "You've got some balls coming here." Ridley said. Vera went towards him, but Kane stopped her, "Don't." Her said. "You're standing where my wife took her last breath." Ridley said. "I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry." Kane said. "Tell me she didn't die for nothing." Ridley said. "If I did, I'd be lying." Kane replied somberly. "Then it's true. You knew those kids were on the ground." Ridley said. "Yes." Kane replied. "That the Earth is survivable." Ridley continued. "No." Kane said. "You were supposed to protect us." Miss Lucy said. Ridley pushed Kane to the ground, "Say something!" Ridley demanded. Jaha shoved through the crowd with guards, "Enough!" Jaha yelled. "I don't need you to defend me." Kane said and stood up. "Murderers!" Someone yelled. Jaha turned to a guard with his shock baton out, "Put that away. Don't make this any worse than it already is." Jaha said and the guard lowered his weapon. "We want answers." Miss Lucy said. "The least we can give you is the truth. Send a signal for a general assembly to the station representatives." Jaha said to a guard. "What are you doing?" Kane asked. "No more secrets." Jaha replied. "Give us the room." Jaha added. The guards filled people out, once everyone was gone Jaha turned to Kane. "You've been drinking." Jaha said. "320 people. If I'd waited a day, 2 days...they'd still be alive." Kane said. "You didn't make that decision alone, Marcus." Jaha said. "Maybe not. But I pushed, I was so- I was so sure. I swore an oath to defend and protect these people instead... I killed them." Kane said. "Pull yourself together, Kane, and get your ass to the Mess Hall." Jaha said and walked away.

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Finn stopped seizing, "It's stopped, quick help me get him on his side." Clarke said and tried to roll Finn. Raven stood still watching Finn's seemingly lifeless body. "Raven! There is fluid in his lungs he could choke, quick!" Clarke yelled. Raven quickly helped Clarke roll Finn on to his side. Clarke checked his temperature, "He's burning up." Clarke said. "Fluid in his lungs, does that mean the knife hit something?" Raven asked. "No this isn't blood, it's something else. I-I did everything she told me. Wait I've seen this before, shortness of breath, fever, seizing, it's poison." Clarke realized. "Clarke you sterilized everything I watched you do it." Raven said. Clarke looked at the knife. "Not everything. Stay here." Clarke said and grabbed the knife, climbing up the ladder. Clarke got to the second floor, "Clarke, they locked the hatch." Octavia said. Clarke kept climbing and knocked on the hatch, "Hey! Open the door!" Clarke yelled and kept banging. Octavia got on the ladder behind Clarke. Miller opened the hatch and Clarke climbed up, but he stopped her full ascent. "Get out of my way, Miller! Now!" Clarke demanded. Clarke climbed all the way up, with Octavia behind her. Clarke walked right up to Lincoln, "What's on this?" Clarke asked. "What are you talking about?" Bellamy asked. "He poisoned the blade! All this time he knew Finn was going to die no matter what we did! What is it?! Is there an antidote?" Clarke asked. "Clarke, he doesn't understand you." Octavia said. "But you do." Clarke said, turning to Madi. "Ask him." Clarke demanded. "No." Madi responded. "Vials." Bellamy realized and grabbed the container full of vials. "It's gotta be here." Clarke said, walking to Bellamy. She threw the knife onto a seat. "You'd have to stupid to have a poison around this long with an antidote. Which one?" Clarke asked, showing Lincoln the vials. "Answer the question!" Bellamy yelled. "He still doesn't understand you." Madi said. "Then he can show us, please." Octavia begged. "Which one? Our friend is dying down there and you can stop that!" Clarke yelled partly at Lincoln, but mostly at Madi. "I'll get them to talk!" Bellamy declared. He went to punch Lincoln, but Octavia held him back, "Bellamy no!" Octavia yelled. Bellamy turned back to her, "They want Finn to die, why can't you see that?" Bellamy asked then turned to Clarke, "Do you want him to live of not?" Bellamy asked. "Clarke you even said it yourself, this is not who we are! He was protecting me, he saved my life!" Octavia begged them to stop. "We're talking about Finn's life!" Bellamy yelled. "Do it." Clarke said. Bellamy walked to Madi and cut her shirt off, they could see all her scars and the neckless with her wife's ring hanging around her neck and her tattoos. "Oh my god." Octavia said, looking at Madi's scars. "Not god, men." Madi replied. "We don't want to do this." Clarke said. "Of course not," She turned to Bellamy, "But it's like you said, this is who you are now, what you've become." Madi said. Octavia tried to stop Bellamy but was held back, "Just tell us!" Octavia yelled. Madi shook her head. Bellamy cut one of the seatbelts, he cut off Lincoln's shirt next, they both had toned abs. "Show us the antidote or you'll wish you had." Bellamy said. Bellamy looked at Clarke, she nodded. Bellamy hit Madi first with the metal part of the seat belt, she barley flinched, Clarke and Octavia looked away. "What, Clarke? Can't bear to see what you're doing to save Finn's life?" Madi asked Bellamy hit her again. Bellamy went to Lincoln and hit him twice, Clarke stopped him and set the vials on the floor, "Please. Which one's the antidote?" Clarke asked. "Just tell them." Octavia begged. "Clarke." Bellamy said and placed his hand on her shoulder. Clarke stood up and walked away. Bellamy moved back to Madi, but couldn't look her in the eyes, "If you're gonna torture me, you can at least have the decency to look me in the eye." Madi said. 

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Jaha stood in front of the station reps. "You are the station reps of the Ark and I don't blame you for losing faith in me. I kept the Ark's oxygen crisis from you. I lied about sending the 100 to the ground but you can tell you stations that the deception ends here. You now know the whole truth but there is one truth that stands above all the rest, Earth survivable and the three hundred and twenty souls who sacrificed their lives for the culling gifted the rest of us the time that we needed to make it to the ground. Mankind is going home." Jaha said. "How do we know that's everything? How do we know you're not still lying to cover up for the culling?" Ridley asked. "This afternoon I declassified the minutes of all council meetings." Jaha said. "Is that supposed to make us feel better? All those people died for nothing." Ridley asked. "Please, we're all in pain." Jaha said. "No, no you don't get to do that. You pushed the button that sucked the air out of my wife's lungs! You caused her pain, you know nothing about how we feel!" Ridley yelled. "I LOST MY SON!" Jaha yelled. Diana stood up and approached Jaha, "I didn't know that. I'm sorry. My friends please, Chancellor Jaha has sacrificed as much as any of us but his loss just like all of yours is not in vain. The chancellor's son died finding out that Earth is survivable. And because of your wife's sacrifice, your daughter will get to go to the ground, that is not in vain." Diana said, the last sentence to Ridley. "Ma'am We can't trust them, I'm sorry." Ridley replied. "Then trust her. As of this morning, there is an open seat on the council. Mine to fill until the next election. We need unity, now. More than ever. What do you say, Diana?" Jaha asked. Diana nodded, everyone around them started clapping. 

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Bellamy kept whipping Lincoln and Madi. "Enough!" Octavia yelled. "Clarke! He's getting worse!" Raven yelled from downstairs. Clarke bent over the vials again, "We're running out of time. Which one? Which one is it? If you tell us they'll stop! Please, tell us which is the antidote and they'll stop this!" Clarke yelled, "This isn't just them!" Madi yelled, "Bellamy can't shoulder the blame for this, you told him to torture us, this is on you, Clarke!" Madi yelled. Bellamy threw down the seatbelt and picked up a nail, "If that doesn't work, maybe this will. Clarke, you don't have to be here for this." Bellamy said and walked towards Madi. "I'm not leaving until I get that antidote." Clarke replied. "Last chance." Bellamy said. "What is it you say? Go float yourself." Madi replied. Bellamy stabbed her through the hand then turned and stabbed Lincoln. "What's taking so long?" Raven asked, climbing up the ladder. She looked horrified when she saw Madi. "He stopped breathing." Raven said. "What?!" Clarke asked/yelled. "He started again but next time he might not." Raven said. "They won't tell us anything." Clarke said. "Wanna bet?" Raven asked. Raven grabbed two electrical wires, Lincoln and Madi looked horrified. Raven wasn't going to hurt Madi, but she would beat the shit out of Lincoln. "What are you doing?" Bellamy asked. "Showing them something new." Raven replied. Raven shocked Lincoln, "Which one is it? Come on!" Raven yelled. She moved to shock Lincoln again, "Raven, stop!" Madi yelled. "Help us!" Raven yelled back. "I'll need the knife, vials, my hands, and I'll need to see Finn." Madi said. "No." Bellamy replied. "Then Finn dies." Madi said. "Bellamy." Clarke said. "She could kill us." Bellamy said. "Finn's all I have!" Raven yelled. Octavia knew the arguing would go on, so would the torture, mostly of Lincoln. Octavia grabbed the knife and stood in front of Lincoln and Madi. Octavia cut her arm, "Octavia, no!" Bellamy yelled. "They won't let me die." Octavia said. Lincoln looked to Madi who nodded her head, indicating that he could save Octavia. "Octavia." Bellamy said. Octavia knelt in front of them and pointed the knife at a vial. "This one?" Octavia asked. She moved the knife and Lincoln shook his head again. He pointed his head right, Octavia picked up the vial on the right and held it up, Lincoln nodded. Octavia handed the vial to Clarke who rushed down the ladder. Raven looked at Madi, "So you'd save Octavia, but not Finn?!" Raven asked/yelled. "I was never going to let Finn die!" Madi yelled. "Believe it on not, he's my friend too. I just had to see what you would do when you were truly desperate, and now I know." Madi said. Raven went down the ladder after Clarke. Bellamy reached for Octavia, "Don't touch me!" Octavia yelled. 

Clarke poured the antidote into Finn's mouth while combing a hand through his hair. "How do we know if it works?" Raven asked. "We'll know when he wakes up. He'll need water when he does, do you mind?" Clarke asked. "Sure." Raven replied and walked up the ladder. Clarke kept up her facade until Raven was gone, then she started crumbling. Clarke started crying and fell into Finn's shoulder. "I can't do this without you." Clarke sobbed. "Hello. Clarke. Clarke. Clarke, can you hear me?" Abby said over the radio, Clarke slowly pulled herself together. "I'm here." Clarke replied. "Oh thank god. The um... the storm is passing. How's Finn doing?" Abby asked. "I think he'll be ok." Clarke replied. "Well, that's thanks to you. I'm so proud of you. Clarke, your father would be so proud of you." Abby said. Clarke got up, with tears still streaming down her face and walked to the radio. "Don't talk about him." Clarke spat with anger. "Clarke. Baby, I know something else is wrong. Please tell me what it is." Abby begged. Clarke was beginning to break down again. "Dad's dead because of you! You turned him in! I know it. Wells told me everything before he-he. He let me believe that he did it. So that'd I'd hate him instead of you." Clarke cried. "Clarke, Clarke I want you to listen to me. This was never supposed to happen. Jaha was supposed to talk him out of it." Abby explained. "I'm done talking to you!" Clarke yelled and shut off the radio. She sat down next to Finn and started crying again.

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Kane walked up to the Eden tree and watered it. "You haven't done that in years." Vera said from the back of the room. Kane turned at her voice, she started walking towards him. "It's healing don't you agree?" She asked. Kane looked down and started shaking. He then started crying and shaking his head. "I don't know who I am anymore." Kane sobbed. "You're my son." Vera said. "I've done some terrible things." Kane replied. "God will forgive you, Marcus the question is will you be able to forgive yourself." Vera said somberly. Kane sighed and Vera hugged him.

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Clarke examined Lincoln's hand first, Octavia came up the ladder, and Clarke rung out a towel. Clarke moved to wash his hand, but Lincoln moved his hand away and closed his palm. "Look I need to clean this." Clarke said, but Lincoln's hand didn't budge. "He thinks you're trying to poison him." Madi said. "Why would I try to poison him?" Clarke asked. "Because you just tortured him for hours, that isn't really the basis of a strong friendship." Madi said. "Here, let me try." Octavia said and grabbed the rag from Clarke. Lincoln opened his palm and let Octavia clean his wound. "I never wanted either of them to get hurt, Octavia. You have to know that. I just wanted to save Finn." Clarke said. "For the record, you didn't save Finn that was me but whatever you want to tell yourself to feel better." Octavia replied. Madi laughed, "She's got you there, Clarke, you didn't do shit." Madi said. Clarke was annoyed with their bullying and went downstairs. "I'm so sorry. You both saved my life and look-look at the thanks you get. I never wanted any of this to happen." Octavia said. Lincoln placed his thumb on her hand. Octavia looked up at him, "Thank you." Lincoln said lowly. Miller woke up, "Hey." He said and walked to Lincoln and Madi. "Did he just say something?" Miller asked. "Nope." Octavia said and Madi shot her a smile. "You know your brother doesn't want you here, Octavia, let's go." Miller said and lead her to the ladder, she was about to climb on when Madi's voice stopped her, "I know it doesn't mean as much coming from me, but thank you, Octavia. For trying to stop them." Madi said with a small smile. Octavia nodded and climbed down the ladder. Miller sat back down, "Look who's in love." Madi said in Trig. Lincoln looked at her and rolled his eyes, "Come on, Lincoln." Madi said also in Trig. Lincoln was silent. "Why is everyone in your clan always so serious?" Madi asked again in Trig. 

Finn started walking up and Clarke walked over to him with a smile. "Hey." Finn said. "Hey." Clarke replied, "Good save." Finn said. Clarke looked at him then at a sleeping Raven. "It wasn't just me. She needs you, Finn." Clarke said, she then turned to Raven. "Raven. He's awake, he was asking for you." Clarke said and moved away from Finn. Raven got up and sat at Finn's bedside, "I thought I'd lost you." Raven said and hugged him, Finn watched Clarke walk away. 

Clarke walked trough the destroyed camp, she walked to Bellamy. "We'll get it cleaned up." Bellamy said. "I wish this was our only mess." Clarke replied. "Clarke. Who we are and who we need to be to survive are two very different things." Bellamy said. "What are we gonna do with them? Madi's people know she's here." Clarke worried. "If we let them go, they'll be back and not alone. Not easy being in charge is it?" Bellamy asked.

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"I, Diana Sydney, solemnly swear to uphold the oath to protect and defend the laws and people of the Ark." Diana said. "Then welcome back to the table, Councillor Sydney." Jaha said and sat down. "Thank you." Diana replied. As she took her seat the other councilors clapped. "As the former chancellor, no one knows more about Project Exodus than you do. The good news is that we are going to the ground the bad news is that not all of us are." Jaha said. "It's a problem we were supposed to have a hundred years to fix." Diana explained. "What problem?" A Councillor asked. "There are 2,237 people on this Ark and there are only enough drop ships to carry 700. We are on the Titanic and there aren't enough lifeboats." Jaha said.


	9. Day Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke, Madi, and Bellamy go on a mission to find supplies for approaching winter. Some of The 100 accidentally eat nuts with powerfully hallucinogenic properties and lose their grasp on reality. Meanwhile, Octavia seizes the opportunity to help a friend escape and a terrifying event brings Clarke, Madi, and Bellamy closer. On the Ark, Commander Shumway secretly assigns one of the 100 to kill one of his own and the treacherous actions of Diana Sydney are revealed.

Bellamy sat and watched Lincoln and Madi, "You're haunted...by the things you've done." Madi said. The hatch opened and Miller came through. "Did you talk to the Ark? I told Digg's mom the news, John's dad. I'm supposed to talk to Roma's parents later." Miller informed. "Thanks for doing that. I owe you." Bellamy replied. Miller turned to Lincoln and Madi, "Telling all these parents that their kids were murdered by Grounders, I just wish I could say we were getting some justice." Miller said. "It's like I just keep repeating myself, I can find out why Trikru killed your people and I can get justice, but you have to let me." Madi said. Miller walked to Madi, "You made us think you were our friend, the way I see it we should kill you first." Miller said. "We're not killing them." Bellamy stated. Clarke came in, "The council wants her there with me when I talk to them." Clarke said. "No." Bellamy replied, "Oh come on, if I wanted to kill you you'd be dead." Madi said. "Fine, but she stays in chains." Bellamy said.

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Clarke sat in the radio tent with Madi behind her. "Tell me about the grounders, can they provide insight into how to survive the winter?" Jaha asked. "You could just ask me." Madi said. "This is Madi," Clarke said, introducing her. "Anyway, we're doing everything we can to prepare here. We're gathering nuts and berries, curing meats, digging for roots, but the truth is, we'll freeze before we starve." Clarke added. "Some of the nuts and berries you've gathered are poisonous, curing meats only works if you know how to do it properly, and from what I've seen you don't, and it's not getting any hotter, Clarke. And yes, I could show you which berries are poisonous and how to cure meat, and how to make sure you don't freeze to death, but I would need something in return." Madi said. "What?" A council member asked. "I need your trust." Madi said. Everyone looked confused, "I know you have a lot to think about so I'll leave." Madi said. She dropped the chains into Clarke's lap and walked out of the tent.

Raven saw Madi come out of the radio tent without chains on, "Where are your chains?" Raven asked. "Wasn't really loving them." Madi replied, rubbing her wrists. Raven noticed her left hand, "What happened?" Raven asked. "The stab or the burns?" Madi asked. "The burns." Raven replied. "Why I was 13 I was taken and tortured by another clan, it was one of the many things they did to me. It's why I didn't flinch why Bellamy stabbed me, I can't feel anything in my left hand." Madi said. "I'm sorry." Raven said. "It's just another sad story, Reyes, sorry doesn't make a difference now." Madi said and started walking towards the dropship, "Where are you going?" Raven asked. "Back to my cell." Madi replied.

"We'll have to think about Madi's offer, but for now, according to civil defense plans from before the war, there's an old emergency aid depot not far from the landing site. Here are the coordinates." Kane said. "In addition to supplies, it could provide shelter for the hundred and for the citizens coming down from the Ark." Jaha added. "And what makes you think it's intact?" Clarke asked. "It was designed to withstand nuclear warfare." Kane said. "All right. It's worth a shot." Clarke replied, "Chancellor, I have to object. Project Exodus is underway. The kids should sit tight in their camp until the first drop ship launches." Diana chimed in. "Even if everything goes without a hitch, the hundred would die from exposure before relief arrives. I'd like a moment with Clarke alone, please, and I know there's a line of parents waiting to talk to their kids." Jaha said to the councilors, they all left. "Clarke, we all are very proud of what you've done down there. Your mother--" Jaha tried. "I don't want to talk about my mother." Clarke interrupted. "Please, Clarke. It's time to forgive. Let me schedule a time for you and Abby to sit down--" Jaha said but was interrupted again. "Look. I know you both think that betraying my dad, killing him, was an unavoidable tragedy, but I don't see it that way, and I never will. So just tell me who's next and let someone who actually wants to talk to their parents have a turn." Clarke said and left. Clarke walked to Jasper and Monty who were sorting, cracking, and eating nuts. "Hey, you guys seen Dax?" Clarke asked. "Over there on the meat crew." Monty said. Clarke walked to meat crew, "Dax. You're up." Clarke said. "By the way, you guys are curing the meat wrong." Clarke added and walked away.

Dax walked into the tent and sat down, noticing Commander Shumway on the screen instead of his mom. "Where's my mom?" Dax asked. "You can see her after you and I have a little talk. Are you alone?" Shumway asked. "Yeah. Why?" Dax asked. "If I remember right, you beat a man to death." Shumway said. "He stole from me." Dax defended. "Relax. I have a problem, and I think you can help me fix it, and in return, I can guarantee your mom a spot on the first drop ship and for you a choice assignment when I get to the ground." Shumway offered. "What do you want me to do?" Dax asked. "Kill Bellamy Blake." Shumway replied.

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Bellamy walked down the ladder after returning Madi to her bonds, Octavia was sitting and waiting. "You're still here?" Bellamy asked. "I'm not moving until you let me up there to see him." Octavia said. "Get comfortable." Bellamy replied. "Isn't it enough that I let him live?" Bellamy asked. "He saved my life and yours." Octavia said. "I know you see it that way, but--" Bellamy tried to explain. "That's the way it is." Octavia interrupted. "They're dangerous." Bellamy said. "Only because of you." Octavia said. "Whatever twisted connection you think you have with that animal, forget it. You don't get to see him. End of conversation." Bellamy declared. Bellamy turned to leave, "Why do you even care if I ruined your life? You should want me to go up there. Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll kill me, problem solved." Octavia said. "Octavia, you know I didn't mean that." Bellamy said. Clarke walked into the dropship, "Bellamy--" Clarke tried. Bellamy walked past her, "The answer is still no. I'm not talking to Jaha." Bellamy said. Clarke grabbed his arm, "Hey, relax. That's not why I'm here." Clarke said. "What, then?" Bellamy asked. "The Ark found some old records that show a supply depot not too far from here." Clarke replied. "What kind of supplies?" Bellamy asked. "The kind that might give us a chance to live through winter. I'm gonna go check it out. I could use backup." Clarke replied. "Why are you asking me?" Bellamy asked. "Well, because right now, I don't feel like being around anyone I actually like." Clarke said. Bellamy huffed with a smirk, then glace to Octavia, "I'll get my stuff, meet you in ten." Bellamy said and started out the dropship, "We're bringing Madi to." Clarke said. "Why?" Bellamy asked. "We need to build trust." Clarke explained.

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"What do you think they're gonna do with the Grounder's?" Jasper asked while sorting nuts. "I'd rather not think about it." Monty replied. "Madi's our friend, she saved Octavia's life, but it's been days since Bellamy imprisoned them. How long till there friends come looking?" Jasper asked. "Cheer up. In that time, we'll all be dead from hypothermia." Monty said.

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Clarke sat in Finn and Raven's tent examining Finn's wound. "How are you feeling?" Clarke asked. "Weak, bored..." Finn winced, "Grateful to be alive." He said. "Well, if you want to stay that way, you should rest." Clarke said. "I'll tie him down if I have to." Raven chimed in, they all kind of looked at each other for a moment, in awkward silence. Clarke turned to Raven, "I'm gonna be out of camp today. Can you change his bandages in a few hours?" Clarke asked. "Wait. Where are you going?" Finn asked. "It's a little assignment from the Ark. It's nothing to worry about." Clarke replied. "It's not safe out there." Finn said. "Finn, Clarke is a big girl. She can take care of herself." Raven said. "Clarke..." Bellamy said and poked his head into the tent, Madi poked her head in after, "Sorry to interrupt your love triangle, here, but can somebody please take this off?" Madi asked holding up her wrists. "You can get them off yourself." Raven said. "Yeah, but that's really uncomfortable." Madi replied, she looked down a Finn, "I'm happy you're okay." Madi added. "No thanks to you." Raven said. "Frankly, Raven, you didn't do anything, either." Madi said and left the tent. "Let's get a move on." Bellamy said. Clarke turned to Raven, "Make sure he stays in bed." She said. "It sounds like a plan." Raven replied. Clarke left the tent.

Bellamy took a bunch of rations from the bin, Clarke walked over. Madi waved at her from where she was sitting and waiting. "That's a lot of rations. You realize this is a day trip." Clarke said. "A lot can happen in a day." Bellamy replied. Madi walked over to them, "If you won't take off my chains can you at least give my knife?" Madi asked. "Why?" Clarke countered. "Sentimental value." Madi replied. Clarke handed her the dagger. Bellamy, Clarke, and Madi walked out of the newly built walls. Dax noticed them leaving and slowly walked after them, pocketing a hunting knife.

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Octavia watched Connor call to Miller, "Hey, Miller, Roma's parents are waiting for you on the radio." Conner called and left. Octavia hid from Miller as he climbed down the ladder. Miller left the dropship and Octavia raced up the ladder to Lincoln. Octavia opened the hatch, "Hi. We don't have a lot of time." She said she closed the hatch and walked to Lincoln. "I brought you some water. Here." Octavia said and lifted the water skin to his mouth. "It's good, right? Sorry I haven't seen you since everything happened." Octavia said and gave him more water. "My brother has been keeping me away. He's a total dick, which you probably already figured out." Octavia said and Lincoln chuckled and smiled. "You do understand me. I knew it." Octavia said, "Well, at least let me get you cleaned up quick." She added grabbing a rad. Octavia started to clean the blood and dirt off of Lincoln's torso, she stopped to admire his tattoos. "This is all my fault because I freaked out so bad when you locked me up in that cave. You'd totally understand why if you knew how I grew up." Octavia said and started cleaning off his face. "My name is Lincoln." Lincoln said, looking her in the eyes. Octavia looked up at him, "Lincoln. I'm Octavia. Well, is that it? Is that all you're gonna say?" Octavia asked. "It's not safe for us to talk." Lincoln replied. "Well, if we shouldn't talk, then why did you tell me your name?" Octavia asked. "I want you to remember me after I'm dead." Lincoln replied. "Don't say that. You're not gonna die." Octavia said. "Octavia... This only ends one way." Lincoln said. "Just talk to them. Tell them you're not the enemy." Octavia begged. "I am." Lincoln said. Miller opened the hatch, "Octavia, get the hell out now. Bellamy is not even here. Get out, or he gets the beating I've been aching to give him." Miller said. "Okay, okay. I get it. I'm gone." Octavia replied and left.

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Bellamy, Clarke, and Madi trudged through the forest, Bellamy and Clarke started eating some nuts. "You know, the first dropship is gonna come down soon. Pretty sure you can't avoid Jaha forever." Clarke said. "I can try." Bellamy replied. "Running away from your problems never works, Bellamy." Madi said. "Maybe he'll be lenient." Clarke said. "Look. I shot the man. He's not just gonna forgive and forget." Bellamy said. "How'd you get the gun?" Madi asked, "There are bigger fish to fry than you, Bellamy." Madi added.

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Raven stood in a tent pouring water into a bowl. Octavia came in and Raven started cleaning a bowl. Octavia rinsed out a bloody rag, "I'd hate to see the other guy." Raven said. "You did, when you were torturing him." Octavia replied. "Finn was dying. I'm not gonna apologize for doing what I had to do." Raven said. "It must suck to come all the way down here to find out your boyfriend is into somebody else." Octavia said. "I'm not doing this with you." Raven said and left.

Raven walked into Finn's tent with a bowl of water. Finn slept on the bed. Raven took her jacket off and set it down, "Hey." Finn greeted. "Hey. Thirsty?" Raven asked. Finn nodded and Raven grabbed the bowl of water and held it to Finn's lips. A few dribbles of water got away from Finn and ended up on his shirt. "Let me get that." Raven said and started kissing his neck. Raven climbed on top of Finn and kept kissing him. "Wait. Wait." Finn said stopping her. "I've been waiting since they locked you up on The Ark." Raven said and kissed him again. "We can't, not till we talk." Finn said and stopped her again. Raven sat up, "I don't want to talk." Raven said. "Something happened." Finn said. "Finn, I know, and I don't want to talk about it..." Raven said and kissed him again, "Well--" Finn was interrupted, "Ever." Raven said. Raven stopped and looked down then back at Finn, "Do you love me?" Raven asked. "Always." Finn replied. "Ok, then." Raven said and kissed him.

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Bellamy was trying to un-dig a log as Dax snuck upon him. "Bellamy. Over here. We found something." Clarke yelled, Bellamy went over the ridge and down to Clarke and Madi. Clarke tried to open the door, "Ugh! I think it's rusted shut." Clarke said. "Here. Watch your foot." Bellamy said. Clarke moved her foot and Bellamy started hacking away at the latch. "Okay. Give me a hand." Bellamy said. Clarke, Madi, and Bellamy pried open the door. They all walked down the stairs, "Here." Clarke said and handed them both flashlights. "Really think this place hasn't been touched since the war?" Bellamy asked. "The spider webs, if there was a tight seal on the door, there won't be any spiders." Madi said. "We can still look, come on." Clarke said. They walked down flights of stairs. They saw a dead, rotting body on the stairs. "Hell of a place to die." Bellamy said. "I'm sorry this didn't work, Clarke." Madi said. "Damn it." Clarke said. "Anything left down here is ruined." Bellamy said. They got to the bottom of the stairs and started looking around. "They must have distributed most of the supplies before the last bombs went off." Clarke said. Bellamy found some glows sticks and Clarke opened a box, finding blankets. "Hey, I found blankets." Clarke said. "Excited about a couple of blankets?" Bellamy asked. "At least you'll freeze slower." Madi said. "She's right, at least it's something." Clarke added. "How about a canteen or a medkit or a decent fricking tent? Argh!" Bellamy yelled and kicked over a barrel of oil. Bellamy heard a clatter, he and Madi went to see what was in the barrel. "Oh my god." Bellamy said. "Oh, shit." Madi said. "What?" Clarke asked. Bellamy picked up a gun and showed it to Clarke.

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Jasper walked into the tent, "Earth is scary." Jasper said. "It's amazing fresh air, trees, nuts. These taste better than usual, right? Oh, I'd like to give Earth a giant hug." Monty replied. "You're acting weird." Jasper said. "I feel weird, but in a good way." Monty said. "I'm gonna pee." Jasper said and left the tent. Jasper started to pee and saw a grounder run outside the fence/wall. Octavia was sowing pelts together when she heard Jasper, "Octavia? Octavia, I think I'm going crazy, or the Grounders are here, or I'm going crazy, or-" Jasper's rambling was interrupted. "Ok. Just slow down. Just tell me what you saw." Octavia said. Jasper pointed to a grounder hallucination, "Him." Jasper said. "Jasper, there's no one there." Octavia said. "He's right there! We have to run. We have to run. Why isn't anyone doing any-" Jasper was interrupted again. "Stop it. Shut up. Jasper, are you on something?" Octavia asked. "I love you, and I just want you to know this. We're all gonna die soon, ok? I love you." Jasper rambled. Jasper went to eat another Jobi nut but Octavia stopped him. "Is this all you've eaten today?" Octavia asked. "It is, but who the hell cares now? It's-" Jasper was stopped. "You're totally bombed. Relax. Here, buddy. Take this." Octavia said, handing him a stick. "It's a stick." Jasper said. "No. This is an anti-grounder stick. So as long as you hold this and you sit right here, grounders won't be able to see you. See?" Octavia explained, sitting him down. "Yeah. Makes sense. I'll just stay right here. Does make sense." Jasper rambled. "Stay right there." Octavia said.

Octavia opened the hatch and climbed through, "Get out." Miller said. "Relax. I thought you might be hungry." Octavia said and threw him a bag of Jobi nuts. "A peace offering. I shouldn't have come up here alone earlier. It was stupid and dangerous, and he's not worth it. I won't tell Bellamy if you won't." Octavia added and left.

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Bellamy hung up a target, "This changes everything. No more running from spears." Bellamy said. "Bellamy, I won't fight you on bringing the guns back to your camp, but you can't shoot first, that'll only get more people killed." Madi said. "I know we need them, Bellamy, but I agree with Madi, there have to be ground rules." Clarke said. "We're lucky the rifles were packed in grease. The fact that they survived means we're not sitting ducks anymore. You need to learn how to do this." Bellamy said. Clarke pointed the gun at the target, "So I just hold it on my shoulder?" Clarke asked. "Yeah, just a little higher now, that end. Yeah. Uh, that's good. Uh, watch and learn." Bellamy said. He shot the gun and nothing happened, he reloaded and tried again, but nothing happened. "You must really suck." Madi said. "You want to try?" Bellamy asked. "My people think that if we pick up a gun the mountain men would wipe us out, always thought it was shit." Madi said and picked a gun. Madi aimed the gun at the target and hit it right near the center. Madi handed the gun to Bellamy with a smile, "You try." Bellamy said to Clarke. Clarke aimed her gun and shot on the far right of the target. "That was amazing. Ha! Am I horrible for feeling that?" Clarke asked. Bellamy and Madi both smiled. "Try again." Bellamy said. "No. We shouldn't waste the ammunition." Clarke replied. "You need to practice." Bellamy said. "No. We need to talk about how we're gonna keep guns around camp, where are we gonna keep them, and who has access." Clarke said. Bellamy lifting his gun and fired, hitting a fair distance away from the target. "You left Miller in charge of the grounder-" Clarke was interrupted, "Lincoln." Madi said. "What?" Clarke asked. "His name is Lincoln." Madi said. "How do you know that?" Clarke asked. "Lincoln traveled to my clan, we met, became friends." Madi explained. "You should keep Miller close. The others listen to him." Bellamy said. "I should keep him close? Bellamy, what's going on? You've been acting weird all day. All the rations you took. You're gonna run. That's why you agreed to come with me. You were gonna load up on supplies and just disappear." Clarke realized, granted Madi had realized this hours ago and chose not to say anything. "I don't have a choice. The Ark will be here soon." Bellamy said. "There's always a choice, Bellamy." Madi said. "You would leave Octavia?" Clarke asked. "Octavia hates me. She'll be fine." Bellamy said. "She's your sister, Bellamy, she could never hate you." Madi said. "And how do you know?" Bellamy asked. "Because I never could've hated my brother." Madi said. "You said your family was dead." Bellamy said. "He is." Madi replied. "You don't know that Jaha will--" Clarke was cut off, "I shot the chancellor. They're gonna kill me. Best-case scenario, they lock me up with Lincoln for the rest of my life, and there's no way in hell I'm giving Jaha the satisfaction. Keep practicing. I need some air." Bellamy said and went outside.

Bellamy sat down on a log, he was starting to feel the effects of the hallucinogen. A loud noise sounded from around a tree and Bellamy's head shot up. "Bellamy Blake." Jaha said, holding his stomach where Bellamy shot him. Bellamy stood up, "How are you here? You're on The Ark." Bellamy said. "You shot me on The Ark, but I've been waiting for you." Jaha answered. "I did what I had to do." Bellamy said. Jaha started walking towards him, "To protect Octavia." Jaha said, "That's right." Bellamy replied. "Pathetic, using your sister to justify your crimes, your cruelty, your selfishness?" Jaha said. Jaha stopped a few feet from Bellamy. "If you're gonna kill me, just do it." Bellamy said. "Why should I kill you? Unlike the others, I survived your treachery." Jaha said. "What are you talking about?" Bellamy asked. "The 320 souls that were culled from The Ark so that others could live. You knew that they would be sacrificed." Jaha replied. "The radio. I didn't know that would happen." Bellamy said. "It's not my forgiveness you should seek. It's theirs." Jaha said looking to the culled people. They made their way to Bellamy, "Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer." They kept repeating. "Murderer." Jaha said. "Stop!" Bellamy yelled and started running.

Clarke started hallucinating her cell on the Ark and Madi just sat down already knowing this would happen. Clarke reached out to one of her drawings of Earth, "It's not what you imagined, is it?" Jake asked from behind her. Clarke turned around, "Dad?" Clarke asked. Clarke hugged him.

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Octavia walked around picking up the discarded clothes of people who were high.

Raven layed on Finn's chest, both trying to find something to say. Monty came bursting through the tent flap. "Hey, is the moon in here?" Monty asked. Finn tried to cover Raven's back. "Monty-" Finn was cut off, "I can't change the tide if the moon won't cooperate." Monty said. "Get out of here." Finn said. "It's basic physics." Monty said and left. "Stay here." Raven said and put her clothes on before walking outside. People were dancing around and talking to sticks. "Scratch that. Get out here." Raven called to Finn.

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Clarke let go of her father, "You're not real, are you?" Clarke asked. "Sorry, kiddo. I wish I were." Jake replied with a smile. "Wait. How is this possible?" Clarke asked. "I'm thinking why is more important than how. Why me?" Jake asked. "Because I miss you." Clarke said. "Think there's more to it than that, kiddo." Jake said. "You want me to forgive her." Clarke realized and sat down on the bed. Jake sat down next to her, "Hey... Your mom loves you, Clarke." Jake said. "She betrayed you. How can I forgive her for that? The disappointed look isn't fair. I'm trying. I'm trying all the time, but everyone is counting on me, and it's so hard." Clarke said. Jake pulled Clarke to him and held her, "Come here. I know, honey. It's been tough, hasn't it?" Jake said. "I let them get tortured. I told Bellamy to torture them." Clarke said. "Listen. You're doing the best you can." Jake said. "You want me to say mom did the best she could." Clarke said. "This is about what you want." Jake said. "You're dead because of her. She doesn't deserve my forgiveness." Clarke said. "Oh... Listen to me. Forgiveness isn't about what people deserve." Jake said.

*Happening at the same time as Clarke's hallucination*

Madi sat on the floor of the bunker, meditating. "I know you're there, you may as well come out." Madi called into the darkness. Dax stepped out from behind a wall, "How'd you know I was here?" Dax asked. "Little things, the snap of a twig, the caw of a crow, how whenever I looked behind me I would see your jacket." Madi said, "Why didn't you tell them?" Dax asked. "I wanted to know what you are doing here." Madi said. Dax picked up a gun and pointed it at her, "And now I know." Madi said. "Look. I'm sorry. I can't." Dax stood behind Clarke, "Whatever. Crazy bitch." Dax/Jake said. Clarke was forced out of her hallucination and back into the real world, Madi sat calmly in front of her and Dax held a gun to her head. "Dad?" Clarke asked. And Dax knocked her out then knocked Madi out.

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Octavia dropped the clothes on the floor and grabbed a knife, cutting off Lincoln's restraints. Lincoln fell to the floor with a thud. "Why are you doing this?" Lincoln asked. Octavia hurriedly put clothes on Lincoln's body, "Just get dressed." Octavia said. "They'll know you helped me." Lincoln said. "You said it- you stay here, you'll die. I'm not gonna let that happen." Octavia said. Lincoln put on a red jacket. "I'm not gonna put you in danger." Lincoln said. Octavia put another jacket on him. "You need to do this now. Ok." Octavia said. "Even in these clothes, I'll be seen." Lincoln worried. "People are seeing plenty of things right now." Octavia said. "Up you get." Octavia pulled Lincoln to his feet. Lincoln limped towards the door, putting most of his weight on Octavia, "What'd you do?" Lincoln asked. "Set out some of our winter rations a little early." Octavia said. They stopped at the hatch, "Jobi nuts, the food you gave my guard, they go bad, they cause visions, but it wears off." Lincoln said. "Just try to get as far away as you can, ok, and try not to get yourself killed." Octavia replied. Lincoln turned to leave but stopped himself, he turned back to Octavia and kissed her. "Tell Madi to be careful." Lincoln said and left.

Finn just finished burning the rest of the Jobi nuts. Raven let Connor hug again, "Tell me again." Connor said. "You are the most beautiful broom in a broom closet of brooms." Raven said. "Mmm..." Connor hugged Raven again. They heard a girl crying, Raven was still locked in a hug with Connor. "I got this one." Finn said and walked towards the crying. Finn stopped the crying girl, "Hey." Finn said the girl turned around. "What?" She asked. Finn directed her away from the exit and back to camp. Finn stood alone, and Lincoln came running out of the dropship. Lincoln stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Finn. Finn gesture for Lincoln to run, Lincoln stared at him for a moment before running off.

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"Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer." The culled kept repeating. Bellamy was surrounded by them, he stumbled back and fell to the floor. Jaha tapped Bellamy's shoulder and Bellamy turned, kneeling in front of Jaha. "Please kill me. Kill me! I deserve it. Please." Bellamy begged, he pulled out a gun and tried to offer it to Jaha. Jaha looked at him for a quick moment before slapping him across the face. "I can't fight anymore!" Bellamy yelled. Jaha started walking towards him, "Don't you know? Life is a fight." Jaha said and kicked him in the stomach. "What am I supposed to do?" Bellamy asked from the ground. Jaha kicked him arm out from under him, causing him to fall. "Live, breathe, suffer. You owe them that. You want the peace of death. You're gonna have to earn it." Jaha said. Jaha kicked him again, "Fight back!" Jaha yelled. He punched Bellamy. "Fight back! Do you think you deserve to be free of your pain? Do you deserve that gift? Because you're gonna get it." Jaha said. He hit Bellamy with an uppercut. Bellamy layed on the floor with Dax standing over him and a gun pointed at his head. "Nothing personal." Dax said. He was suddenly hit to the ground by Madi. Madi walked to Bellamy and offered him her hand. Bellamy grabbed Madi's and allowed himself to be pulled up. Clarke came up behind them with her gun staying on Dax. Bellamy walked to Dax and took his gun, "Why?" Bellamy asked. "Shumway made an offer I couldn't refuse." Dax replied. "Shumway gave me the gun to shoot the chancellor." Bellamy said to Madi and Clarke. "What do we do with him?" Clarke asked. "Kill him." Madi replied. Madi saw Clarke's look and explained, "Attempted murder of a clan leader has consequences, Clarke. If you can't enforce rules all you'll get is anarchy." Madi said. Both Clarke and Bellamy looked at each other, trying to decide who would pull the trigger. "It's okay, you shouldn't have this on your conscience." Madi said and held out her still cuffed hands to Bellamy, asking for his gun. Bellamy handed her the gun and she shot Dax in the head. Madi went to Clarke's bag and grabbed a shovel. "What are you doing?" Clarke asked. "Even traitors deserve respect, Clarke." Madi said and started digging Dax's grave. Bellamy and Clarke sat down next to where Madi was digging the grave, "All I do is hurt people. I'm a monster." Bellamy realized. "We're all monsters then. Bellamy, we all hurt people, people we love, or otherwise. It's part of being human." Madi said. "And you may be a total ass half the time, but I need you. We all need you. None of us would've survived this place if it wasn't for you. You want forgiveness, fine, I'll give it to you. You're forgiven, ok, but you can't run, Bellamy. You have to come back with me. You have to face it." Clarke declared. "Like you faced your mom?" Bellamy asked. Madi smiled. "You're right. I don't want to face my mom. I don't want to face any of it. All I think about every day is how we're gonna keep everyone alive, but we don't have a choice." Clarke said and looked at Madi who gave her a sincere smile and a nod of the head. "Jaha will kill me when he comes down." Bellamy said. "We'll figure something out." Clarke said. "Can we figure it out later?" Bellamy asked. "Whenever you're ready." Clarke said.

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Jasper sat in a chair, sleeping and clutching the 'anti grounder' stick Octavia had given him earlier. Octavia walked towards from the dropship but was stopped by Monty. "Rough night?" Monty asked. "Yeah. My head is killing me. You?" Octavia asked. They started walking towards the dropship together, "I'm pretty sure I ate a pine cone because it told me to." Monty replied. Miller came rushing out of the dropship, "He's gone. The grounder is gone." Miller yelled. Jasper was awakened by the noises, "What if he brings other grounders back?" Jasper asked. "He'll kill us all." A delinquent said. Bellamy and Clarke came walking in the door with Madi behind them, "Let the grounders come. We've been afraid of them for far too long, and why? Because of their knives and spears. I don't know about you. I'm tired of being afraid." Bellamy said, opening the bag of guns. "Ho ho ho! No way." A delinquent called. "These are weapons, ok, not toys, and we have to be prepared to give them up to the guard when the dropships come, but until then, they're gonna help keep us safe." Clarke said. "And there are plenty more where these came from. Tomorrow we start training, and if the grounders come, we're gonna be ready to fight." Bellamy said.

Octavia stood against the newly built wall and looked up at the moon. Bellamy draped a blanket over her shoulders, "I don't expect you to forgive me, but you'll have to find a way to live with me because I'm not going anywhere." Bellamy said. Clarke came up behind them, "Bellamy It's time." Clarke said. Bellamy turned to Clarke then back to Octavia, "Grounder escaping, was that you?" Bellamy asked. "I had nothing to do with it. Thanks for the blanket." Octavia said.

Bellamy and Clarke sat at the radio, they could see Jaha on the radio screen. "Mr. Blake, I've wanted to talk to you for some time now." Jaha said. "Before you do, I'd like to say something. When you sent us down here, you sent us to die, but miraculously, most of us are still alive. In large part, that is because of him, because of Bellamy. He's one of us, and he deserves to be pardoned of his crimes just like the rest of us." Clarke declared. "Clarke, I appreciate your point of view, but it's not that simple." Jaha replied. "It is if you want to know who on The Ark wants you dead." Bellamy said. "Bellamy Blake, you're pardoned for your crimes. Now, tell me who gave you the gun." Jaha demanded.

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Kane walked through the doors with a guard on either side of them. Two guards came through the door opposite them, trapping Shumway. Two guards put Shumway in cuffs, Kane walked to him. "You're a disgrace." Kane said. "I'm fighting for what I believe in, just like you." Shumway replied. "What, exactly, is that?" Kane asked. Shumway was silent, Kane nodded to guard and they took him away.

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Madi back to the dropship still in cuffs while talking to Octavia. "I know you let him go." Madi said. "I don't know what you're talking about." Octavia replied. "Of course not." Madi said with a smile. Octavia started walking away to her tent, "Octavia!" Madi called after her. Octavia turned around. "If you ever want to learn how to fight, I'll teach you." Madi said. Octavia's face lit up. Clarke walked up behind Madi, "Where are you going?" Clarke asked. "Back to my cell." Madi replied, pointing at the dropship. "No." Clarke said. "What?" Madi asked. "You were right when you said we have to have trust. This is me trusting you." Clarke said and took off Madi's cuffs. "Thank you for trusting me, Clarke." Madi said and walked after Octavia.

Clarke sat down beside Finn, "I need to check this." Clarke said. She lifted up his shirt. "Guns? Really?" Finn asked. Clarke lifted off the bandage, "With Lincoln escaping, we have to be prepared." Clarke replied. "Yeah. Our ancestors wanted to be prepared, too. So they built bombs." Finn said. "Rifles are not the same as nukes." Clarke said. "In Bellamy's hands, they are. Clarke, come on. You can't predict what he's gonna do." Finn argued, "There's no perfect answer, Finn." Clarke said. "Lincoln and Madi both saved Octavia's life, and Bellamy tortured them." Finn said. "Yeah, but if he hadn't, - you'd be dead." Clarke argued. "Madi was never going to let me die." Finn argued back. "Madi agrees that we need the guns." Clarke argued. "Like hell she did." Finn replied. "Look, Finn, I trust Madi and I trust Bellamy." Clarke said. "You can't be serious." Finn said. "I am." Clarke replied. "I wish you would've talked to me about it first." Finn said. "I wish you talked to me about a lot of things, but you didn't." Clarke replied Raven entered the tent and Clarke walked out.

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Shumway paced back and forth in his cell, the door opened. "Thank God it's you. I thought I was about to float." Shumway said as Diana Sydney entered his cell. "It won't come to that, Commander." Diana replied. A guard loyal to Sydney entered. "Wait. What's going on? I did what you asked me... Agh!" Shumway screamed as the guard shocked him, effectively knocking Shumway out. The guard looked to Diana who nodded her head, the guard walked to a light and smashed the bulb. He picked up a piece of glass and slit Shumway's wrists, killing him.


	10. Unity Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke, Raven, and Finn with the help of Madi attempt to broker peace with the Grounders but all hell breaks loose when Bellamy and Jasper, show up armed and ready for battle. Octavia and Lincoln grow closer. Meanwhile, tragedy strikes during the Unity Day celebration on the Ark.

The delinquents stood around the radio listening to Jaha's Unity Day remarks. "My friends, this is a historic Unity Day. Every year, we mark the moment our ancestors of the twelve stations joined to form the Ark, but this is the last time we do so while aboard her. Next year, on the ground." Jaha said. Applause was heard over the screen, the Ark couldn't hear what the delinquents were saying. "Right. After we did all the work. Someone shut him up." Miller said. "You shut up, Miller. No one's forcing you to watch." Raven replied. "For ninety-seven years, we have eked out an existence, hoping that someday our descendants would return to Earth." Jaha said over the radio.

Madi and Octavia were locked in a dance of pure hands, with Madi allowing Octavia to master certain moments this way. Just as Octavia was starting to master the move Madi changed it, placing a small slice on Octavia's hand. Octavia pulled her hands away and checked her cut. "Ow." Octavia said. Madi turned to knife around, offering the hilt to Octavia, "I believe you have somewhere to be." Madi said. "How did you know?" Octavia asked. "We're sharing a tent, and I'm not stupid." Madi replied and gestured for Octavia to go.

Clarke stood next to Finn on the dropship ramp. "Don't tell me you don't like Unity Day." Clarke said. "Unity Day is a lie. The Ark only came together after the thirteenth station was blown out of the sky. Just not the version of history we like to tell each other at parties." Finn replied. "The Unity Day story gives people hope, though, and peace came out of that violence." Clarke said. "Yeah, but did there need to be violence at all?" Finn asked. Jasper came bursting out of Monty's tent with a barrel, "Whoo! Yeah! Monty strikes again! Hey! Call this batch Unity Juice! Who's thirsty?" Jasper yelled/asked. As everyone moved towards Jasper, Finn saw Octavia run out of camp. "To our sons and daughters on Earth listening to this message, we will see you soon. The first Exodus ship will launch in under sixty hours, carrying you the reinforcements that you need, so stay strong. Help is on the way." Jaha said.

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Diana slowly made her way to Abby while they were watching the Unity Day Festival. "Hello, Abby." Diana greeted. "Diana." Abby curtly replied. "We have seen the true soul of our people." Jaha called out to the gathered. "I hope there are no hard feelings about me taking the Council seat." Diana said. "No hard feelings about anything at all today." Abby replied with a smile. "That's right. You'll be able to see your daughter soon." Diana said. "But enough from me. You are all here for the pageant anyway, right?" Jaha ended his speech. "He's cutting his remarks short." Diana worried to herself. "What's that?" Abby asked. "Oh, nothing. I helped him with his speech. He's leaving the best part out." Diana replied. "Without further ado, I present the story of us." Jaha said. Everyone moved to watch the play. Vera stopped Kane, "They tell me you'll be on the first Exodus ship." Vera said. "Yes. I'm overseeing security on the ground." Kane replied. "Will you take the tree down for me?" Vera asked. "Mom, I have a job to do." Kane said. "Well, at least come to the departure ceremony. You could give the traveler's blessing. Think of it as a good-bye gift for your mother." Vera asked. "I don't remember it. Excuse me." Kane said and walked away from his mother to the play. A little girl stood in the middle of a circle, everyone on the outside of the circle was carrying a flag that represented a different space station. "Long ago when the Earth was on fire, through space all alone. Then one day, Mir floated by Shenzhen, and they realized life would be better together. The other stations saw this, and they wanted to be together, too. When all the stations were formed, they called themselves-" The little girl was interrupted by the loud blast of a bomb.

Ears bled from the ruptured eardrums the bomb gave them. Jaha bent over a little girl and Abby went running to another child, spouting commands at the guards. "Daddy?" The little girl asked. "I'll go and find your daddy." Jaha said. Abby placed and hand on his shoulder and bent down to him, "Jaha, are you okay?" Abby asked. Jaha nodded, but Abby took another look at him, "Get him to medical now!" Abby yelled at one of the guards. "Kane! Find out who did this!" Jaha yelled at Kane. Kane finally found his mom, laying on the floor with blood coming from her, nose, mouth, and ears. "Mom, mom, mom." Kane said while running to her. Kane sat down beside her, seeing a metal shard poking out of her stomach. Abby sat down on Vera's other side and looked at Kane, he knew what that look meant, Abby couldn't save her. Abby got up and walked to another patient. Kane looked Vera in the eyes, "In peace may you leave the shore. In love may you find the next, safe passage on your travels...until our final journey to the ground. May we meet again." Vera died just as Kane finished. Jaha walked to Kane, "Marcus...I'm so sorry." Jaha said. "We need to get you out of here." Kane said, he got up and grabbed Jaha, "Sir. This was a coup. Councilors Cole, Kaplan, Muir, and Fuji are dead. If you hadn't cut your speech short-" Kane was interrupted. "Where's Councilor Sydney?" Jaha asked. Abby looked up from where she was treating a head wound, realizing what Sydney had done, "She left before the blast." Abby said. "I'll find her." Kane said and went to leave, Jaha stopped him, "You do that, and double the guard at the dropship." Jaha said. Kane ran to find Sydney. "I'm putting the Ark on lockdown!" Jaha yelled. A few electrical wires sparked, causing people to scream, "We are not missing that launch window!" Jaha yelled.

A guard ran towards Diana and Ridley, he stopped in front of them. "They suspect it was you. The way I see it, we got two choices. Stay and fight, in which case maybe we win if we can get enough workers to join us." Lieutenant Greco said. "And if we don't, what's the second choice?" Ridley asked. "Take the Exodus ship now." Diana replied. "It's not ready." Ridley said. "Can our engineers get it ready?" Diana asked. "To charge the batteries on a ship that size without causing a disruption to The Ark takes time." Ridley said. "Then cause disruptions." Greco replied. "It'll get cold. With the lockdown, even if they find a way to isolate the leaser populated stations, people will die." Ridley said. "So there's casualties either way" Greco said. "Take the Exodus ship. We should have built a bigger bomb." Diana said.

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People all around the camp were drinking Monty's moonshine, Clarke walked through the masses to Bellamy. "Hey. The comms are still dead. They cut out during the pageant." Clarke said. "Best Unity Day ever." Bellamy replied. "Do you really think now is a good time to be having a party? As much as I trust Madi, I don't trust Lincoln." Clarke said. "Relax, the grounders aren't stupid enough to attack when we have a clan leader hostage. Why don't you get a drink? You look like you could use one." Bellamy said. "I could use more than one." Clarke replied. "Then have more than one. Clarke, the Exodus ship carrying your mother comes down here in two days. After that, the party's over. Have some fun while you still can. You deserve it." Bellamy said.

Madi sat next to Raven in the tent where she was making bullets. "Why didn't you save Finn earlier?" Raven asked. "I wanted to see what all of you would do when someone you love was in danger, and you reacted as any person would." Madi replied. "Why are you making bullets?" Madi asked. "Your people only understand violence." Raven replied. "No, we understand strength. And yes, Raven, our ways are harsh but violence for violence only multiplies violence then all you have is an endless cycle of death." Madi said. "This is us showing our strength." Raven said. "No, this is you multiplying violence. There is more than one way to be strong, Raven." Madi said. "You started killing us first." Raven said. "You have to try and see it from our point of view, you're invaders from the sky with technology like the Mountain Men. I know you're all scared, but so are we. The Mountain Men have been killing us since Praimfaya, my people are terrified that you're here to wipe us out." Madi said. "The grounder tried to kill Finn." Raven said, "Raven, they'd just knocked him out after he saved their lives." Madi replied. "What are you talking about?" Raven asked. "When they brought Lincoln in, I saw his foghorn. I asked Bellamy what happened, the only reason they are alive is because a foghorn blew and caused Trikru to retreat." Madi explained. "How do you that was him?" Raven asked. "I've known Lincoln for years, he would do it for someone for he loves, and he loves Octavia." Madi said. Raven put her tools down and looked at Madi, "You make a good point." Raven agreed begrudgingly. "Don't hold it against me." Madi replied with a smile. 

Raven walked up to Bellamy, "Find someone else to make your bullets." Raven said. "What?" Bellamy asked. "I'm not making the bullets." Raven said. "You volunteered." Bellamy said. "Now I'm un-volunteering." Raven replied. Bellamy walked to Jasper, "You're on bullet duty." Bellamy said.

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Octavia saw the white flower, Lincoln's sign for her. Octavia followed the trail, picking up the flowers as she went. Octavia went through the entrance to Lincoln's cave, he was sketching on the wall. Octavia slowly walked up behind him with the knife Madi had given her. Octavia ran at him with the knife but Lincoln turned around at the last second and caught her. "Better?" Octavia asked. Lincoln looked down at her other hand where she had a knife to his throat, "Madi's trains are working, we may make a warrior out of you yet." Lincoln replied. Octavia dropped her knives and kissed Lincoln. 

Finn walked through the forest, tracking Octavia. "You really need to be more observant." Madi said, coming out of nowhere, "What the hell?" Finn asked, shocked. "I've been following you since you left camp, I'm assuming that you're following Octavia." Madi said. Finn stared blankly at her, "Come on then." Madi said and lead the way.

Lincoln pulled Octavia out of the cave. They kissed and Lincoln noticed Finn walking towards them, he pulled out a knife. Lincoln went to attack Finn but Madi dropped from the trees and stopped him, "Put it down, Lincoln." Madi said. Lincoln lowered the knife, "It's good to see you, my friend." Lincoln said, "Likewise." Madi replied they gripped each others arms in greeting. Finn pulled out a knife and offered it to Lincoln, "I think you lost this." Finn said. They all went back into the cave, "So, what the hell are you doing here?" Octavia asked, looking at Madi. Madi put her hands up in surrender, "I was following him." She replied, pointing to Finn. "Finn?" Octavia asked. Finn grabbed the foghorn from his bag, "You blew this when your people were hunting us." Finn said. Lincoln nodded his head. "You saved our lives. I have to believe there's more like you, like both of you." Finn said looking at Madi and Lincoln. "I stabbed you." Lincoln said. "And we tortured you, but the killing needs to stop." Finn said. "I don't have the power to call a truce." Lincoln said, they all looked to Madi. "I can't call a truce in Trikru territory, but I can influence one." Madi said. "Bring us someone who can call a truce. Look, The rest of our people are coming down here. The first ship lands in two days." Finn said. Lincoln looked to Octavia, "It's true." Octavia said. "And because of the attacks, they're sending mostly soldiers, the people that enforce our laws. The Ark is about survival at any cost, and they'll kill people who fall out of line. When those people get down here if they feel threatened, they will start a war, and I don't want that. Neither do you, and I think that's why you blew that horn. Once the soldiers get here, it will be too late, and we'll have no power to stop them, but if they see that we're at peace, then maybe we have a chance to stay that way." Finn said. "All right. You bring your leader, I'll bring mine." Lincoln agreed. "What, Bellamy? He'll never go for this." Octavia said. "We're not bringing Bellamy." Madi said. "We're bringing Clarke." Finn added.

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The guards went through the dropship, looking for a stowaway. A guard walked to Kane, "Sir, the dropship's clear. We did a full security sweep." The guard said. "Okay, boys and girls. Play time's over. Back to work. Let's get this ship ready to launch." Red said to the group of engineers. "I should be in medical, not packing first-aid supplies." Abby said. "The injured have been taken care of...And there's nothing we can do for the dead." Kane replied. "Marcus. I'm sorry. Vera was an amazing spirit." Abby said and placed her hand on his shoulder. Diana came running into the dropship, "This launch should be delayed at least until you've questioned the terrorist that set that bomb. I put word out to my people and just heard back. His name is Cuyler Ridley. He's a mechanic who lost his wife in the culling." Diana said and handed him a tablet. "Yeah. I recognize him." Kane said. "So what makes you think he did it?" Abby asked. Diana walked down to Abby, "He turned himself in." Diana said. Abby shared a looked with Kane, both of them distrusting Diana. "Where have you been, Diana? Why did you leave the pageant early?" Kane asked. "Well, thank God I did, or I'd be dead right now. I guess we're both lucky." Diana replied. "Stay where we can find you." Kane said. "Where am I gonna go, Kane? Be careful. Ridley's dangerous." Diana said as Kane walked away.

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The delinquents partied around the camp. Clarke stood at a table, playing a game with Fox. Fox aimed to get the metal ring into a cup, "You're not gonna get this one." Clarke said, clearly drunk. "Yes, I am." Fox replied. "No. It's not happening." Clarke said. Fox bounced the ring off the table and into the cup, causing the group to cheer. "Whoo! All right." Fox cheered. Clarke drunk the alcohol from the cup and spit out the metal ring. "What do you know? Her highness can actually party. I like it." Caleb said from across the table. "So, what are you gonna do when the guard come down and commandeer Monty's still?" Clarke asked. "Build another." Caleb replied. Finn walked up to the table, looking serious. "What is it?" Clarke asked. "Let's take a walk." Finn replied. Clarke walked away with Finn, "Did something happen?" Clarke asked. "I need you to come with me, but I can't tell you why okay?" Finn replied. "Finn, tell me why." Clarke said. Finn tried to pull her away from the crowd, "Hey. Don't." Clarke commanded, Finn stopped and looked at her. "I set up a meeting with the Grounders." Finn said. "A meeting? I don't understand. With who? Madi?" Clarke asked, "No, the grounder we had in the dropship was named Lincoln, he is helping set up the meeting." Finn replied. "Where's Madi?" Clarke asked. "Getting Raven." Finn replied. "Raven?" Clarke asked. "Madi trusts her." Finn replied. "If we go, we have to bring back up." Clarke said. "No way. We're not bringing guns. Those weren't the terms, and if we're gonna do this, we got to give it a fair shot." Finn said. "Okay. Okay. I'll- I'll get my pack, and I'll meet you at the gate." Clarke said. "Okay." Finn replied and walked away. Clarke walked to Bellamy, "Hey. I need to talk to you." Clarke said. "Having fun yet, princess?" Bellamy asked. "I'm serious." Clarke replied. "You always are, so talk." Bellamy said. "Finn's set up a meeting with the Grounders. I'm leaving to go talk to them." Clarke explained. "Look, I trust Madi, but the rest of them tried to kill us. Are you out of your mind?" Bellamy asked. "Well, that's why I'm here. I need you to follow us, be our backup." Clarke said. "Do they know?" Bellamy asked. "They don't need to know, and Bellamy, bring guns." Clarke said. 

Madi walked into Raven's tent, "I need you to come with me." Madi said. "Why?" Raven asked. "'Cuz I trust you." Madi replied. "Where are we going?" Raven asked. "To stop a war." Madi smiled. 

Bellamy walked into the bullet tent where Jasper was checking the bullets, "Jasper, you're coming with me." Bellamy said. "I am?" Jasper asked. "Let's go." Bellamy replied. 

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Madi, Clarke, Finn, and Raven walked through the forest. Madi pulled a pair of cuffs from a bag and handed them to Raven, "You mind?" Madi asked. "Why?" Raven asked, putting the handcuffs on Madi. "There's someone following us, and I have to look like a prisoner." Madi said. "So, there's a good chance we are headed into a trap." Clarke said. "Well, Clarke, you asked for the parley. And Trikru knows nothing of your honor so they will probably have people in the trees to cover their backs." Madi said. "And we trust them?" Raven asked. "I've decided to hope." Finn replied. "Finn, you're putting a lot of faith in a guy who stuck a knife in you." Clarke said. "Lincoln won't betray us." Madi said.

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Kane walked into Ridley's cell, "You were seen planting the bomb, Ridley. You killed six people." Kane said. "Should have been seven. Jaha's lucky he cut his speech short." Ridley replied. "I know you're upset about what happened at Section Seventeen." Kane said. "I lost my wife. You're damn right I'm upset, but this is about more than the culling. Workers all over the Ark are tired of getting screwed. It's our kids you sent to die on Earth and who's on the first dropship? Not us. Over and over Jaha and the rest of you on the Council betray our trust. Today is your reckoning." Ridley said. "Tell me. Who helped you? I know you didn't act alone." Kane demanded. "You don't know jack. You still think this is just about the Chancellor." Ridley replied with a wicked smile. Graco shock batoned the other guard and Ridley kicked Kane backward into the wall. Graco released Ridley and the power started failing, "There goes the power. That's our cue." Ridley said at the door. Graco noticed Kane was still conscious, "Leave him. He's gonna die in here anyway." Ridley said. They ran out the door as Kane ran after them, throwing his shoulder into the door, it didn't budge. 

Jaha ran to Sinclair as he came out of the control room, "What's happened?" Jaha asked as the light blinked. "I'm not sure, but we've lost power to multiple stations. Farm, Hydra, Mecha. Now we can vent in breathable air, but the temperature in those stations is falling fast. People are gonna freeze to death." Sinclair answered. They started walking down the hallway with guards following them. "Lift the lockdown and evacuate those stations. Where's Kane?" Jaha asked. "He's interrogating the bomber. Sir...Power's out in Prison station." Sinclair said. Jaha ran towards prison station when he got there he saw a shivering Kane on the floor of Ridley's cell. "It's a mutiny. Diana Sydney. She's- She's diverting power." Kane said. "She's taking the Exodus ship." Jaha realized. 

Guards started taking out other guards with their shock batons. The defected guards pointed their shock batons at the workers in the dropship, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell are you doing?" Red asked. "This is our ship now." The guard replied. Graco walked through the doors with Diana behind him, "Chancellor on deck." Graco said. "How many of our people are on board?" Diana asked. "Less than fifty percent, ma'am. They're all upstairs on the passenger deck." A guard replied. "Tell me about the cargo." Diana said. "Nearly all here." The guard said. "Search all the decks. Throw anyone not loyal to us out of the service hatches and back into the Ark. Lieutenant, you may give the order." Diana said. "Seal the doors, begin the launch protocol. We're t-minus five and counting." Graco said. Red ran out the doors, guards went to stop him. "Let him go! He's made his choice." Diana said. "He'll warn Jaha." Ridley inputted. "That hardly matters now. This Exodus ship belongs to all of you. You're the future of the human race, and today, I'm going to lead you home." Diana said. None of them knew it but Abby watched the mutiny silently from the cargo area of the dropship.

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Octavia paced back and forth on the bridge, waiting for everyone to show up. "So that's how you set this up. You helped him escape, didn't you?" Clarke asked looking at Octavia. "I trust him, Clarke." Octavia said. "That's one word for it." Madi muttered. Raven snickered at her joke. "Chains really?" Octavia said to Clarke. "It was my idea." Madi said. "Someone's coming." Clarke said as Lincoln ran out of the trees, Octavia ran to him. They hugged. Clarke started to back away, but Finn took hold of her hand. Raven looked partly annoyed and partly hurt at Finn's gesture so, Madi whispered in her ear, "Please, try to clam down." Madi whispered. "Oh, my God. Horses!" Clarke said. Madi smiled when she saw Morgan and Sofi riding on horses behind Anya. Finn noticed their weapons, he ran up to Lincoln, "We said no weapons." Finn said. Madi and Raven walked after Finn and Clarke, "You'd have to be stupid if you thought they were gonna stick to that rule." Madi said. Finn went to go with Clarke, "Sorry Finn, you can't come with us." Madi said. Madi and Clarke walked to the middle of the bridge. Anya dismounted her horse, Sofi and Morgan followed her lead. Morgan ran past Sofi and Anya, straight into Madi's arms. Madi looked as if she'd been handed the world. Madi put Morgan down and tucked a lock of Morgan's hair behind her ear. Morgan touched the bandage on Madi's left hand, "I'm alright, kid." Madi said with a smile. Madi stood up as Anya and Sofi approached. "Madi." Anya said and shook her hand in a warrior's handshake. "It's nice to see you, Anya." Madi replied. Madi smiled and embraced Sofi. Anya turned to Clarke, "Your name is Clarke?" Anya asked. "Yes." Clarke replied. "I'm Anya." Anya said. Clarke held out her hand, but Anya didn't shake it. "I think we got off to a rough start...but we want to find a way to live together in peace." Clarke said. "I understand, you started a war that you don't know how to end." Anya replied. "A war?" Madi asked. "Yeah, the flares they set off burnt down a village." Sofi said. "Hence, war." Anya said. "We didn't know, they were meant to send a message to our families." Clarke said. "You're invaders. Your ship landed in our territory." Anya said. "We didn't know anyone was here. We thought the ground was uninhabited." Clarke argued. "You knew we were here when you sent an armed raiding party to capture one of us and torture him, them you took a clan leader prisoner, and tortured her. These are all acts of war." Anya said. "I see your point. That's why we need to put an end to all of this." Clarke said. 

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Sinclair, Jaha, and Red stood at the doors to the Exodus ship, "I told you. It happened very fast. I'm not even sure that Doctor Griffin was inside at the time. I'm sorry." Red said. "Sir, the Exodus ship is fully charged, and they've begun their launch protocol." Sinclair informed. "It won't launch when the door's open, that's correct?" Jaha asked. "It is." Sinclair replied. "Then get the damn door open." Jaha demanded. Red started trying to pry the door open. "We can't. It's already pressurized, and we can only open it from the inside." Sinclair said. "Keep trying!" Jaha demanded. Kane walked to the door, "How long until launch?" Kane asked. "Two minutes." Sinclair said. "Diana, open the door!" Jaha yelled. 

A guard walked up to Diana, "Sitrep forthcoming, ma'am. We should be ready for launch momentarily." The guard said. "Upper levels clear?" Diana asked. The guard nodded, "Okay." Diana said. "Complete the sweep- and secure the hatches." The guard said. "Assume flight positions." Graco commanded. Abby crouched behind a few crates, Ridley came up behind her and grabbed her, "Hey! What are you doing?" Ridley asked. Ridley pulled Abby onto the main deck, "Abby?" Jaha asked. Ridley brought her in front of Diana, "Diana, don't do this." Abby pleaded. "It's already done." Diana replied. "Get her out of here." Ridley commanded. "Wait. We could use a doctor on the ground. Come with us. You owe Jaha no loyalty. He's killed your husband and betrayed you. You're just like us. Think of your daughter, Abby. You can see Clarke again today." Diana said. "I'm nothing like you." Abby said and ran to the door controls, she was able to get the door open enough for Red to get his pry bar in before getting shocked. "Abby!" Jaha yelled as Abby crumpled to the floor. "I got my pry bar in! Somebody get me a jack!" Red yelled. 

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"Lincoln said there are more of you coming down, warriors." Anya said. "The guard, yes, but also farmers, doctors, engineers. We can help each other but not if we're at war." Clarke said. "Can you promise that these new arrivals won't attack us, that they'll respect the terms you and I agree on?" Anya asked. "I promise I will do everything I can to convince them to honor the terms that we set." Clarke replied. "Why would I agree to an alliance that your people can break the moment they get here?" Anya asked. "She's right, Clarke, we should be talking to your Chancellor." Madi said. "Well, the Chancellor is unavailable." Clarke replied. "I do have another idea, you give us hostages, if your people break our deal, we kill them." Madi said. 

Bellamy and Jasper watched from the bushes, Jasper noticed something in the trees, he pointed his gun and saw the grounders in the trees, ready to attack. "There's Grounders in the trees." Jasper said. "What?" Bellamy asked, he pointed his gun but saw nothing, "I don't see anything." Bellamy said. "They're gonna shoot! Clarke, run! Run!" Jasper yelled, he came out of the trees and started shooting at the grounders. Anya pulled out a knife but Bellamy shot her in the shoulder. "Run!" Madi yelled to Sofi and Morgan. Madi noticed the arrow first, diving in front of Clarke to save her. Madi got an arrow through her shoulder, "Fuck me." Madi said, holding the wound. Raven and Finn ran to Madi and Clarke as Bellamy and Jasper laid down cover fire. Raven picked Madi up, Madi handed her a knife, "Hold it to my throat." Madi said. Raven did as she asked and held the knife to Madi's throat, they all ran to cover. Lincoln got an arrow to the chest while protecting Octavia. Anya, Morgan, and Sofi rode away. "Oh my God! Lincoln! You've been hit!" Octavia worried. Lincoln held the wound, "It's just a scratch. Unh! Okay. Run! Don't stop till you get behind your walls. Go! Take her!" Lincoln yelled. Clarke pulled Octavia away from Lincoln. Madi snaped the back off the arrow and pulled the rest of it trough her shoulder. They all ran towards camp.

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The people on both sides tried to keep the door closed or open it. "I got the jack." A guard said. Red entered the jack into the door and started to open it. "Where's Abby? Send her through!" Jaha demanded. "I will if you let the doors close." Diana replied. "No, no, no. They haven't decoupled!" Sinclair said. "What does that mean?" Kane asked. "It means the dropship's still tied into all of our major systems. Power, water, air. If it launches, the Ark will be crippled, and everyone left on board will die." Sinclair replied. "Can we do it from our side?" Kane asked. "Yes, but it takes hours, and they're not waiting!" Sinclair said. "Diana, please! You don't want to be remembered like this!" Jaha yelled. "I won't be because you brought this on yourself, Jaha. You promised the people truth, and all you gave them were lies!" Diana yelled back. "You had me shot! You detonated a bomb in a public meeting, killing six innocent people, and now you want to kill everyone on this space station to satisfy your ego?" Jaha questioned. "He is still lying to your face. There aren't enough dropships to get everyone to the ground." Diana said. Red stopped working on the jack, "What is she talking about?" Red demanded. "Trust me, we will figure this out. We will survive, we always do! Go! Come on!" Jaha yelled. Red started prying on the jack again. "You can't trust him. More than one thousand people, most of them workers like you, are gonna be left behind to die. You can still save yourself." Diana said. "I don't trust either of you." Red said. The Ark shook, "We've lost the main power generator." Sinclair said. "But I'm going to the ground!" Red said and squeezed through the doors, kicking out the jack when he got to the other side. "No!" Jaha yelled as the doors closed. "Launch!" Diana yelled. "Sir, we have to go right now! Everybody out! Get back behind the containment doors. Go, go, go!" Sinclair yelled as they got behind the containment doors. The Exodus ship pulled away from the Ark, causing huge explosions.

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Bellamy, Clarke, Raven, Finn, Madi, Octavia, and Jasper stopped outside camp. Madi turned to Jasper and punched him in the face then backed him into a tree, "Are you a fucking idiot?" Madi asked. "Put him down." Bellamy commanded, pointing a gun at Madi. Madi turned to Bellamy, "Go on then, shoot me." Madi said, Bellamy, looked at her for a moment and put the gun down. "We said no weapons." Finn said. "We can't trust them." Clarke said. "You shot first." Madi said. "You ruined everything." Octavia accused Jasper. "I saved you! You're welcome." Jasper said. Madi scoffed, "Don't you understand what you've done, you broke the rules of a parlay, you shot a general and killed two soldiers, they will strike back and when they do you'll drop like flies." Madi said. "You didn't have to trust them, Clarke, you just had to trust me." Finn said. An explosion could be heard all around, they all looked to the sky, "The Exodus ship?" Bellamy asked. They all watched it for a minute, "Wait. Too fast. No parachute? Something's wrong." Clarke said. They all watched the Exodus ship crash to the ground, creating a huge explosion. Clarke sunk to her knees, believing Abby to be dead.


	11. I am Become Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Murphy returns to camp claiming to have been held captive and tortured by the Grounders. Clarke and Bellamy have very different opinions on how to handle his return. Octavia sneaks away to find Lincoln and returns with a serious warning for the 100. Meanwhile, a mysterious virus strikes camp, forcing many to be quarantined. Madi pulls off a heroic move.

Clarke, Bellamy, Madi, Finn, and Raven walked around the Exodus crash site, "Clarke shouldn't be out here." Finn said to Raven, "Her mom was on the ship. She's looking for answers. You want to help her, find me the black box, hard drives, anything that will explain why this ship crashed." Raven replied. "Tell me about your mother, Clarke." Madi asked. "My mother was a doctor on the Ark, she helped people, then she killed my father. I didn't know how to forgive her, but now she's gone and I don't know what to do." Clarke said. "Nothing will stop that pain, Clarke, and all we can do in the end is learn from it." Madi said. "What am I supposed to learn?" Clarke asked. Madi ignored Clarke's question, "What's your fondest memory of your mother?" Madi asked. Clarke smiled remembering, "She thought me how to play chess." Clarke said. "The only person who can take the happy memories and turn them into sad one is you, Clarke, don't do that to yourself, don't let yourself be eaten by grief, don't remember how she died, remember how she lived." Madi said. Clarke and Madi saw a weird pink liquid coming out of a jet engine, Clarke shied away at the smell but Madi got closer, touching the liquid. "Stop!" Raven yelled, running over to them. "What is it?" Madi asked. "Hydrazine... Highly unstable in its non-solid form. If this stuff meets fire, we're all pink mist." Raven explained. "Great." Madi replied and whipped the liquid off her finger. Raven picked up a rock and dipped it in the Hydrazine, "Fire in the hole!" Raven yelled and threw the rock into a fire, "Fun." Madi said. "We need to clear the area." Raven said. "Okay, then. We move in formation, no straggling, weapons hot. We got to get back before dark." Bellamy commanded.

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Octavia walked to Monty who was sitting on the wall watching the forest. "Hey. No sign of your brother or the others yet." Monty said. "Hey. I don't care." Octavia replied, noticing a white flower, Lincoln's sign. Jasper and a few others stood around the fire, "Jasper, tell us again, how'd you stay so calm? I would've been terrified." Harper said. "Fear is only a problem if you let it stop you, right?" Jasper replied. Octavia scoffed, "That's not even his line. Finn said that." Octavia said and Monty shrugged. "I saw the Grounders in the trees. It was like nothing I ever felt. You know, pure animal instinct took over. One pull of the trigger, two Grounders dead." Jasper said. "'Pure animal instinct'? More like pure pants-wetting panic." Octavia groaned. "You don't really know what you're made of until a moment like that, you know, when it's kill or be killed and there's just nothing between you and the tip of the spear." Jasper said. "Okay. This has to stop." Octavia said and tried to walk to Jasper but Monty stopped her, "Come on. Let us have this." Monty begged. "Us?" Octavia asked. "Look at him. The boy is a folk hero. They even gave us a bigger tent." Monty said. They heard a clattering from outside the wall, "Somebody hit the tripwire!" Connor yelled, people went running to their stations. "Which wire?" Derek asked. "Was it a grounder?" Someone asked. "I got nothing. Connor?" Derek asked. "Nothing." Connor replied. "Something moved." Derek said. "There!" Derek yelled and started shooting. "Think I got him." Derek said after he ran out of bullets. They started running to the opening in the wall, "Lincoln." Octavia realized, she ran out ahead of everyone else. They all saw a little ball clutched together on the ground, Derek kicked him and Murphy squirmed away. "Oh, my God." Connor said, noticing his face. "No way." Derek added. "Murphy?" Octavia asked. 

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Murphy shook, covered in blood, he sat in the dropship with a ton of people around him. Bellamy, Clarke, Finn, and Madi walked into the dropship. "Everyone but Connor and Derek out... Now!" Bellamy yelled. Everyone else left. Madi walked over to Murphy and gave him her jacket. "Thank you." Murphy shook. Madi nodded. "He claims he was with the Grounders." Derek said. "We caught him trying to sneak back into camp." Connor added. "I wasn't sneaking. I was running from the Grounders." Murphy spat. "Anyone see Grounders?" Bellamy asked. Connor shook his head. "Well, in that case--" Bellamy pointed the gun at Murphy but Finn tore it down. "Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?" Finn asked. Madi walked over to a water container, tearing off a piece of her shirt and using it as a rag, she walked to Murphy and started whipping the blood of his face. "What the hell are you doing?" Bellamy asked. "No one deserves to be treated like this, Bellamy, no matter what they've done." Madi replied. "He was with the grounders, he can help us." Finn said. "No he can't, they wouldn't have revealed anything to him. He is useless to you." Madi said. "What did you tell them about us?" Bellamy asked. "Everything." Murphy replied. "We should kill him." Bellamy said. "No, once he's better we find out what he knows then he's out of here." Clarke replied. "What if he refuses to leave? What do we do with him then?" Bellamy asked. "Then we kill him." Clarke replied.

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Harper walked into Monty and Jaspers tent, "Hey, Jasper, um, you're on in fifteen. In case you're hungry." Harper tossed him an apple. "Thanks. Be right out." Jasper said. "I like your tent. Maybe I could, um, come by after your shift, hear about the bridge again?" Harper asked. "Um... I'm actually busy later." Jasper said. "Oh. Yeah. Okay. Some other time, then. See you." Harper said and left. Monty got up from where he was 'sleeping', "Are you kidding me? That was there for the taking." Monty said. "Harper? She's low-hanging fruit." Jasper replied. "Don't tell me you're still holding out for Octavia." Monty said. "I got to go." Jasper said. "Jasper, Octavia is not gonna happen. She likes her Grounders alive." Monty said. "Go float yourself, Monty." Jasper said. "I'm just telling you the truth." Monty said. "No. You're telling me your truth. I'm not like you anymore." Jasper said. "What the hell does that mean?" Monty asked. "It means you're jealous, and people think I'm cool, and that upsets you." Jasper replied. "I think you're cool, only no one had to die for me to see it." Monty said. "You know what? This is my tent, okay? Bellamy gave it to me, and if you have a problem with that, maybe you should find somewhere else to sleep." Jasper said. "Maybe I should." Monty replied. "Then do it." Jasper said. "I will." Monty replied. "Good." Jasper spat.

Clarke walked out of the dropship and into the radio tent where Madi and Raven were talking. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't know anyone was in here." Clarke said. "You okay?" Raven asked with worry, Madi started visibly examining Clarke. "Yeah." Clarke replied. "Still nothing from the Ark. It's like they shut it down from their side. It could be solar flares blocking the signal." Raven said before Clarke could leave. "But you don't think so." Clarke said. "We've got a bad feeling." Madi said, "We?" Raven asked. "I helped." Madi said. Clarke was about to leave, "Clarke, wait. I'm sorry about your mom." Raven said. Clarke turned around and they could see blood flowing from her eyes, "Oh, my God, Clarke, your eyes." Raven worried. Raven went to help her, "Raven, don't touch her." Madi said. Raven backed away, "You touched Murphy?" Madi asked. "Yeah." Clarke replied. "Clarke! Where's Clarke?" Connor yelled from outside the tent. "Connor?" Clarke asked they all left the tent. "It won't stop." Connor said, touching the blood that was flowing from his nose. "What's happening?" Raven demanded. Derek started coughing out blood and passed out. "Raven, don't touch anyone." Madi said and walked to Clarke, "You know what this is?" Madi asked. Clarke nodded. Madi went to Connor and picked him up, "Why are you touching him?" Raven asked. "I'm immune." Madi said. Clarke walked into the dropship and Madi went after her, carrying Connor. Madi set Connor down in the dropship. They went to Murphy, "Murphy, hey, look at me. I need you to tell me exactly how you escaped from the Grounders. What happened?" Clarke asked. "I don't know. I woke up, and they forgot to lock my cage. There was no one there, so I took off." Murphy said. "They let him go, he's the weapon." Madi said. Bellamy walked into the dropship, "Bellamy, stay back." Clarke demanded. "Did he do something to you?" Bellamy asked. Clarke shook her head, "What the hell is this?" Bellamy demanded. "Biological warfare. You were waiting for the Grounders to retaliate for the bridge? This is it." Clarke replied. "Is this your revenge, helping the Grounders kill us?" Bellamy asked Murphy. "That would be stupid." Madi said. At Bellamy's look, she explained further, "Why would he volunteer to have a virus that could easily kill him, its stupid." Madi said. "You said you're immune, could he be too?" Clarke asked. "Some people have natural immunity, but he wouldn't be showing symptoms." Madi said. Finn walked in, "Clarke?" Finn asked. "Finn, you shouldn't be in here. No one should." Clarke said looking at Bellamy. "I heard you were sick. Clarke, what is this?" Finn asked. "I don't know, some kind of hemorrhagic fever. We just need to contain it before--" Clarke was interrupted by Derek's seizing. Madi walked to Derek, Clarke got up and Finn grabbed her arm, Clarke shook him off. "Hey, don't touch me. You could get sick. Wash your hands. Now." Clarke demanded. Derek stopped seizing and started coughing up blood. "What the hell is happening to him?" Finn asked. "He's drowning in his own blood." Madi said. Derek suddenly stopped coughing and collapsed. Clarke bent down to him. "Is he..." Bellamy couldn't finish his sentence. Clarke checked his pulse, "He's dead." Clarke said. Clarke grabbed a container, "Here. Alcohol. Hold out your hand." Clarke poured the moonshine onto Finn's hands. "What do we do?" Finn asked. "Quarantine. Round up everyone who had contact with Murphy. Bring them here." Clarke said. Finn left to get everyone. "That won't work, Clarke." Madi said. "We have to start somewhere. Connor, who was with you when you found him? Who carried him in? Think." Clarke said. "The first one there was Octavia." Connor replied. 

Octavia was flipping through Lincoln's journal when someone walked in, "Hey, Madi." Octavia said. "Not Madi. How are you feeling?" Bellamy asked. Octavia turned around and faced Bellamy. "Fine. Get out." Octavia said. "You touch Murphy yesterday?" Bellamy asked. "What?" Octavia asked. "Did you touch Murphy yesterday?" Bellamy asked again. "I don't know. I guess so. Why?" Octavia asked. "The Grounders sent him here with a virus to infect us. Derek just died from it, another mark for your boyfriend's book. Get up. Clarke needs to examine you." Bellamy replied.

Octavia sat down while Clarke examined her, "Okay. We're done. No visible signs of swelling or bleeding." Clarke said. "So you're saying she doesn't have it?" Bellamy asked. "I'm saying she doesn't have symptoms, but that could change. We need to keep her here just in case." Clarke said. "That isn't how it works, Clarke." Madi said. "So tell how it works, tell me how to find the cure." Clarke pleaded. "Clarke...there is no cure, the weak die, and the strong survive." Madi said. "I won't believe that there has to be a cure." Clarke replied. "Octavia's immune." Madi said, "She won't get it." Madi added. "How do you know?" Clarke asked. "The virus is fast-acting if she wasn't immune she'd be like Connor." Madi explained. "I got to go see who else could be infected." Bellamy said. "We'll update you." Clarke said. Bellamy left. Clarke turned to Octavia, "I need you to go find Lincoln, find out what he knows." Clarke said. "He won't have a cure." Madi replied.

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Octavia walked through Lincoln's cave, "Lincoln? Lincoln." She called. Lincoln walked over to her and checked for signs of bleeding, "You knew." Octavia said. "I tried to get you out of there. You not see the flower?" Lincoln asked. "I saw it... Right before I found the kid your people sent to infect us. People are dying, Lincoln. Madi told us there's no cure, but thinks your people might have one." Octavia said. "Madi was right, there is no cure." Lincoln said. "So you were just gonna let my people die? You were gonna let me die?" Octavia asked. "The sickness passes quickly. We use it to soften the battlefield. I am not surprised you are immune." Lincoln said. "The battlefield?" Octavia asked. "They attack at first light." Lincoln replied. "You're gonna have to help me save them." Octavia said. "I can't. I tried. My people think I'm a traitor now." Lincoln replied. "Because of the bridge? You were just trying to make peace." Octavia said. "It's not the bridge." Lincoln said. "Because of me? Oh." Octavia said. "That doesn't matter now. I'm leaving, Octavia, right now. I want you to come with me." Lincoln said. "And go where?" Octavia asked. "Madi's clan, they'll accept us, you." Lincoln said. "I can't just let my brother get killed." Octavia said. "There is nothing you can do to stop that now." Lincoln explained. "I can warn them." Octavia said. "Octavia, they'll kill you. If you're there at dawn--" Lincoln was interrupted. "I won't be. Just wait for me here. I'm coming with you." Octavia declared.

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Two delinquents carried the body of a young girl out of the dropship. "All right. Shows over. Get back to your posts." Bellamy said everyone started dispersing. Bellamy turned to Clarke, "You got enough food in there, water?" Bellamy asked. "Yeah. Some medicine might be nice." Clarke replied. "I'll see what I can do. Octavia, you okay?" Bellamy asked. When Octavia didn't answer Bellamy started to approach the dropship. "Bellamy, wait. She's not here. I sent her to see Lincoln. Despite what Madi said I still think there's a cure. I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't let her go." Clarke said. "If anything happens to her, you and me are gonna have problems." Bellamy threatened. Bellamy turned and started to walk away. "Bellamy... Bellamy!" Clarke called after him. A boy blocked Bellamy's path, "Out of my way." Bellamy demanded. The boy turned around and blood streamed from his eyes. "Dude, your eyes. Nobody touch him!" Someone yelled. The delinquents backed away from the boy. "Get to the dropship. Now." Bellamy demanded. Raven looked at the girl next to her, "Hey are you okay?" Raven asked, the girl fell and two delinquents grabbed her. She coughed blood onto their faces, "Oh, my God. Oh, my God, it's on me." The boy covered in blood yelled, he stumbled back. People started pointing guns at him and yelling, "Get away! Get back! Get back!" People yelled. Clarke and Madi watched as the delinquents divulged into chaos, "The virus won't kill you, Clarke, the chaos will." Madi said. Clarke tore her way into the dropship and grabbed a gun, she walked out and fired a few shots into the air. Everyone stopped and turned towards her, Madi stood behind her with a smile on her face. "This is exactly what the Grounders want. Don't you see that? They don't have to kill us if we kill each other first." Clarke declared. A delinquent pointed his gun at her, "They won't have to kill us if we all catch the virus. Get back in the damn dropship!" He yelled. Bellamy grabbed the barrel of the gun and slammed the stock into his face. He turned to Clarke, "Not to state the obvious, but your quarantine isn't working." Bellamy said. Clarke stared at him for a moment the started to fall over, Finn rushed to catch her, "Finn, don't touch her!" Raven yelled right before Finn caught Clarke. "Hey, let me go. I'm okay." Clarke said. Finn didn't let her go, "No, you're not." Finn said. "Octavia will be back with a cure, there has to be a cure." Clarke said the last part to herself. "There is no cure." Madi and Octavia said at the same time. "But the Grounders don't use the sickness to kill." Octavia added. "We use it to soften the battlefield, you fight amongst yourselves, you're weak, you're disorganized, you're grief-stricken. It's the perfect strategy because you couldn't see an enemy 3 feet in front of you." Madi said. "She's right, the Grounders are coming... and they're attacking at first light." Octavia said, she walked to Finn, "Come on. I'll help you get Clarke into the dropship." Octavia said she Clarke, Finn, and Madi walked into the dropship. Bellamy turned to Raven and Jasper, "How many bullets can you make by first light?" Bellamy asked.

Finn carried Clarke into the dropship, "What do I have to do to stop you from coming in here?" Clarke asked. "Get better." Finn responded. "If he's not sick by now, then he's probably immune like me." Octavia said. Murphy got off his hammock, "Here. Come on. She can take mine." Murphy offered. Finn set Clarke down on the hammock. "What else can you tell us about the virus?" Finn asked Madi and Octavia. "It doesn't last long." Octavia said. "It's true. I feel better." Murphy said. "They need to stay hydrated." Clarke said to Finn. "You need to stay hydrated." Finn replied. Octavia brought her a cup of water, Clarke took a sip and handed the cup back, "Okay. Them, too. Please?" Clarke asked of Octavia. "It's okay. I'll do it. Just rest." Octavia said and walked to the water container, "I'll help you." Murphy said and got up. "You need to save yourselves. Just leave camp. Take anyone healthy enough with you." Clarke said. "If you think that's even a possibility, you don't know me very well." Finn replied. "I know you." Clarke replied and fell asleep. Murphy walked over to Finn and Madi, "Look. At this rate, when the Grounders get here, there won't be anyone left to fight back." Murphy said. "That's the point." Octavia replied. "You don't have to stop them, only slow them down." Madi said.

Bellamy, Harper, Monty, Jasper, and Raven worked in the tent, loading bullets. "There's five to a clip. Let's go. We need to get these guns on the wall." Bellamy said and grabbed a loaded gun. "Why just five?" Monty asked. "We're running out of gunpowder." Raven replied. "Oh, we're so dead." Harper said. "Don't worry. I got your back." Monty scoffed when Jasper said it. "Got something to say?" Jasper asked. "Hey, guys, stay focused. We're doing good. We need as many rounds done by dawn as we can." Raven said. Madi and Finn walked into the tent, "It won't matter if there's no one left who can shoot. What do we need to build a bomb?" Finn asked. "Depends on what you're trying to blow up." Raven said. "A bridge." Madi replied. "What are you talking about?" Bellamy asked. "Murphy says he crossed a bridge on his way back here from the Grounders' camp. Sound familiar?" Finn asked. "Yeah. So what?" Bellamy asked. "The virus is fast-acting, people are already getting better. Delaying the attack is the only way you have a chance at winning, blowing up the bridge is the only way to delay." Madi said. "What makes you think we can tear it down? That bridge has survived a nuclear war and ninety-seven years of weather." Bellamy said. "It won't survive me." Raven replied. 

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Raven walked to the rocket engine in her full spacesuit. She opened a canister and held it under a hydrazine drip, "Please don't let me blow up." Raven said.

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Raven, still in her spacesuit pored the hydrazine from one container to a more permanent container. Raven placed the lid on the new container and took her helmet off. "Okay. You can come in now." Raven said. Bellamy, Finn, and Madi walked into the tent and looked at the jar, "That's gonna blow up a bridge?" Madi asked. "Relax. It needs an accelerant-- gunpowder. A container of hydrazine. Put the gunpowder around the hydrazine. Hit the bull's-eye... Win a prize." Raven said. "It's the rest of our gunpowder. Won't be able to make any more bullets." Bellamy said. "Tonight we need a bomb. We can worry about bullets tomorrow." Finn replied. "If we do this and it doesn't work, we'll all be dead tomorrow." Bellamy said. "Then let's make sure it works. To be safe, you need to be at least two hundred feet away to make the shot." Raven said. "No problem. Which one of you plants the bomb?" Bellamy asked. They were all silent for a minute, "I will." Finn spoke up. "No, I'll do it, I just need someone to point a gun at my head." Madi said. "You'll blow up your own people?" Bellamy asked. "I'm not blowing up my people, I'm blowing up a bridge." Madi replied. "We have one bomb. We need to use it to kill as many of those bastards as possible." Bellamy replied. "But they don't know we only have one bomb. If we did, why would we waste it on the bridge? I'm talking about deterrents, peace through strength." Finn said. "The appearance of strength, you mean." Raven said while taking off her spacesuit. "You don't need to be strong, so long as others think you're strong." Madi said. "Men who built the A-bomb thought they were peacemakers, too. How'd that work out for them?" Bellamy asked. They all noticed Bellamy's nose started bleeding. "Don't touch anything." Raven said. "Who else can take a shot?" Finn asked. "Appreciate the concern. Make sure the bomb is packed and ready to go in ten minutes." Bellamy said and left. Madi saw Raven eyeing the bomb and knew she would do something stupid. Bellamy stumbled outside, "Jasper, come here." Bellamy commanded. Jasper started walking towards him, "Hi. You need me to go with you to the bridge again?" Jasper asked he got to close to Bellamy, "Stay back." Bellamy commanded and Jasper took a step back, "I need you to take the shot." Bellamy said. Jasper looked back at the boys he was sitting with, "Yeah. I can do that." Jasper said. Bellamy looked at the boys, "Don't you have jobs to do?" Bellamy asked he turned back to Jasper, "If you miss, if that bridge doesn't blow, we're all dead. You got that?" Bellamy asked. "Hey, why me? I mean, you've got twenty shooters...I'm the only one not sick, right?" Jasper asked. "Right." Bellamy confirmed. "Don't miss." Bellamy said. Bellamy started walking away but fell down, "Bellamy!" Jasper yelled and went towards him, "No. Stay back. Make the shot. Find Finn. Go." Bellamy said. Jasper turned to two delinquents. "Hey, don't just stand there. Get him into the dropship." Jasper commanded.

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Connor was coughing like crazy, Octavia stood by Clarke making sure she was alright and Murphy was giving another kid water. "Hey, Murphy..." Octavia said. "Yeah?" Murphy asked. "Clarke says when that happens to roll him on his side." Octavia replied. "I'm on it." Murphy said, he walked to Connor. "Come on. Come on. Get on your side." Murphy said, rolling Connor on to his side where he coughed up a ton of blood. "You're okay. You're okay, all right? I got you. Okay. Okay. Just breathe. Just breathe. All right. Listen to me. You and me are good. All right. Just breathe. That's better." Murphy said. "I put the rope around your neck. Why are you helping me?" Connor asked. "Bygones." Murphy replied. Two boys with masks coving their faces carried a coughing Bellamy into the dropship. "Bell? No. Clear some space. Lay him down. Oh, no. Bell..." Octavia was speechless, she ran to Bellamy and turned him on his side so he could cough out the blood. "Hey, big brother." Octavia said while whipping the blood off Bellamy's face. "I'm scared." Bellamy said. "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." Octavia said. "That's what I said to you the day you were born." Bellamy said. "I know. You told me that, like, a thousand times." Octavia said. "I'm glad you're here." Bellamy replied. "Just get some rest now, okay?" Octavia said. Bellamy fell asleep, holding Octavia's hand.

Monty sat in a chair with a blanket covering him, Finn and Jasper suddenly came bursting into the tent. "Hey, Finn." Monty greeted. Finn looked around, he noticed the bomb was missing. "It's gone. Monty, where's Raven?" Finn asked. "She and Madi left a while ago." Monty replied. "The bomb. There planting it themselves." Finn realized, he ran out of the tent. "You want to come?" Jasper asked. "Why don't you ask your new friends?" Monty asked. "Jasper, let's go." Finn called from outside.

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"I would like to say again that this seems very stupid." Madi said as she and Raven trudged through the forest. "Finn hesitated, he didn't hesitate when Clarke was falling, but when Bellamy asked who was going to take it, he hesitated." Raven said. "Because he loves Clarke more." Madi said. "Thanks for putting it lightly." Raven replied. "If you wanted someone to lie to you you should've taken Jasper." Madi said. Raven's nose started bleeding, "Raven-" Madi was cut off, "We need to keep going." Raven said and started running.

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Bellamy slowly awoke, and sat up. Murphy walked over to him with a cup of water, "Here." Murphy said, Bellamy, swatted the cup away, "Get the hell away from me." He said. "Bellamy, you're sick, okay? I'm just trying to help. Here." Murphy said and handed him a rag to wipe off his bloody nose. Bellamy whipped the blood and his shirt, refusing Murphy offer. Murphy put the rag down. "When I get better, if you're still here--" Bellamy began. Clarke walked over and cut him off, "Hey, I got this one. Yeah." Clarke said, Murphy handed her the water and walked away. Clarke sat down next to Bellamy, "Here." She said and handed the water to Bellamy. "You feeling better?" Bellamy asked. "Yeah." Clarke nodded. "That's good. You seen Octavia?" Bellamy asked. "She was up all night helping people. Murphy gave her a break." Clarke replied. "Don't tell me you trust him now." Bellamy said. "Trust? No. I do believe in second chances, though." Clarke replied. "It's almost dawn. Better get everyone inside. If we lock the doors, maybe the Grounders will think we're not home." Bellamy said. "Not everyone is sick." Clarke replied. "Sick is better than dead." Bellamy said. "You don't think they're gonna pull it off." Clarke stated. "Do you?" Bellamy asked. Clarke thought for a moment, "I'll get everyone inside." Clarke said.

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Raven slowly walked onto the bridge, mostly with Madi carrying her. "Come on..." Raven said. "Raven, this is a bad idea, you can barely walk." Madi said. Raven and Madi walked to the middle of the bridge and Madi set Raven down. They pulled the gunpowder, hydrazine, and container for both out of the bag. "How the hell do I do this?" Madi asked. War drums started playing.

Finn and Jasper ran through the forest, "Do you hear that?" Jasper asked. "War drums." Finn replied. "Oh, we're running toward the war drums? Oh, I hate this plan." Jasper said.

Raven put the hydrazine in the center of the bigger container and Madi started sprinkling the gunpowder around it. They put the copper lid on. Madi got up and picked Raven up.

Finn and Jasper stopped on a ridge overlooking the bridge, "Raven!" Finn yelled, neither Raven nor Madi heard him. "She's still building the bomb. Hey, Finn, wait. No. She's got this." Jasper said, stopping Finn. Finn and Jasper watched as Raven nearly pass out in Madi's arms. "No." Finn said, realizing they needed help. "Get out of there now!" Jasper yelled. "Line up the shot." Finn said to Jasper and started running down to the bridge. 

Madi grabbed the gun and picked Raven up, bridal style, "You're gonna be okay, Raven, just stay with me." Madi said. Madi carried Raven to the end of the bridge and Finn came running out of the trees. Madi set Raven down on her feet, "Take her, Go!" Madi commanded Finn. "Shoot! Jasper, shoot!" Finn yelled to Jasper as he ran with Raven. Torches began to appear on the treeline, indicating the grounders were there. Jasper started shooting the gun, but ran out of bullets. 

Madi set up Raven's gun behind a tree stump. 

Monty came running out the trees behind Jasper, "You call that shooting?" Monty asked. "Monty? Last time was a fluke. I-- I panicked." Jasper stuttered. "So what? You still made the shot, right?" Monty said. "Twice." Jasper replied. Monty handed him a gun, Jasper grabbed it.

Grounders started walking onto the bridge, Madi lined up the shot, "Yu gonplei ste odon." Madi whispered and made the shot, blowing up the bridge and blowing herself back into a tree.

"Good job." Monty congratulated, "That wasn't me." Jasper replied with confusion. 

Finn and Raven ran to Madi, "You were to close." Raven said. "No shit." Madi replied. Finn offered his hand and Madi took it, pulling herself up.

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Clarke, Bellamy, and the other delinquents outside the dropship saw the mushroom cloud and heard the bomb go off. "They did it." Bellamy said. "I am become death, destroyer of worlds. It's Oppenheimer, the man who built the first--" Bellamy cut Clarke off, "I know who Oppenheimer is." Bellamy said. 

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Lincoln was packing his things when Octavia walked in, "We had to stop the attack." Octavia said. "Look. There is so much you don't understand. The mountain men, they'll come, and they'll kill us all. We have to get out of here while we still got the chance." Lincoln replied. "The mountain men? You mean, the drawings in your book?" Octavia asked. "Yeah. Now let's go. We got a lot of ground to cover before dark." Lincoln replied and started walking towards the door. "I'm not going with you." Octavia said, Lincoln stopped and turned back to her. Octavia reached into her pocket and pulled out Lincoln's journal, she offered it to him. Lincoln walked to her and took the journal, "You'll die here." Lincoln said. "Maybe." Octavia replied. "Why?" Lincoln asked. "You just said it. They're my people. I'm sorry." Octavia said with tears streaming down her face, Octavia leaned to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodbye, Lincoln." Octavia said and walked out of the cave.

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It was morning, delinquents were scattered around the camp, waiting for the heroes to return. Harper stood on a watchtower overlooking the woods. "There! It's them! Open the gate." Harper yelled. Jasper and Monty walked in first to the applause of the delinquents, "Don't let it get to your head." Jasper said to Monty. Madi and Finn carried Raven through the gate, with Madi on Raven's left because her stitches had reopened when she was blowback into the tree. Madi let Raven go and stopped next to Octavia. "You stayed." Madi said. "Did you ever dought I would?" Octavia asked. "It was touch and go there for a while." Madi replied. "What the hell happened to you?" Octavia asked, looking at Madi's bleeding shoulder. "I was too close." Madi said. "Mind stitching me up?" Madi asked. "I don't know how." Octavia said. "Come on, I'll teach you." Madi said. 

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Raven layed in the hammock while Clarke checked her pulse. "She's getting stronger." Clarke said and left. "Hey." Finn said and walked over to her. "Hey." Raven replied. There was a pause, "Why'd you take the bomb?" Finn asked. "You hesitated." Raven replied. "What?" Finn asked. "When Bellamy asked who was gonna take it, you hesitated." Raven said. "It's what people do when they're considering something that might blow them up, right?" Finn asked. "You didn't hesitate when Clarke was falling. You knew she had the virus, but you caught her, anyway." Raven said. "Raven--" Finn was cut off, "You didn't hesitate." Raven repeated. "Raven, I love you." Finn said. "Not the way that I want to be loved. Not the way that you love Clarke." Raven said. Raven slowly took off her raven necklace and handed it to Finn, "It's over, Finn." Raven said.

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Bellamy walked outside with a torch, he walked over to Clarke and Madi. "You're outside of the wall without a gun." Bellamy said to Clarke. "Fourteen graves." Clarke said. "We need to talk about Murphy." Bellamy said. "He was right about the bridge." Clarke replied. "We'll see. Octavia says the mountain men are pissed, whatever that means." Bellamy said. "I'd say it means we need as many soldiers as we can get." Clarke replied. "So, what, we have pardon power now?" Bellamy asked. "It's hard running things." Clarke said she looked back at the graves, "14." Clarke said and went inside. Madi walked to Bellamy, "You're a good man, Bellamy Blake, even if you don't believe it." Madi said and walked inside after Clarke.

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Murphy walked over to Raven to check if she was asleep since it was only her, Murphy, and Connor on the dropships first floor. Knowing Raven was asleep he walked to Connor, grabbing a wet rag on his way there. Murphy knelt down in front of Connor and put the rag over his face, suffocating him. Connor struggled against Murphy for a moment before dying. Murphy released the rag, "Bygones." Murphy said and walked away.


	12. The Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a low food supply at camp, Clarke and Finn lead a group out to hunt for food and wind up in a compromising position. With Finn's life in danger, Clarke makes a game-changing decision. Meanwhile, Raven tries to get over Finn. On the Ark, Kane risks his life and is reunited with Chancellor Jaha and Abby.

Clarke stood on a small hill right outside of the camp's wall, Bellamy walked up beside her. "Anything?" Bellamy asked. "It's been two days. Maybe the bomb at the bridge scared them off for good." Clarke replied. "You believe that?" Bellamy asked. "No. They're coming." Clarke said. They started walking back to camp, "Jasper thinks he can cook up some more gunpowder if he gets some sulfur, and Raven says she can turn that into landmines. So be careful where you step." Bellamy said. "Ha! Funny." Clarke laughed. "What I really need is a thousand more of her tin can bombs I can roll into their village and blow those Grounders to hell. That's what they want to do to us." Bellamy replied. "Can't believe we survived a hundred years just so we could slaughter each other. There has to be another way." Clarke said. "Any word from the Ark?" Bellamy asked. "Radio silence." Clarke replied. "Finally ran out of air." Bellamy said. "Maybe my mom was lucky being on the Exodus ship. At least it was quick. No one is coming down to save us." Clarke said.

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Tyler stood beside Sofi in front of Anya, "A full-scale attack could get Madi killed." Sofi argued. "I have my orders." Anya replied. "Lexa ordered Madi's safe return to Polis." Sofi said with anger. "Madi obviously never thaught you the meaning of sacrifice." Anya argued back. "If Madi dies, the coalition dies with her." Sofi threatened. 

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The Ark was dark, almost like a horror show with the lights flickering. Kane slowly woke up, dragging himself to the air vent before getting up, he was alone. "Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?" Kane called as he walked around in the darkness.

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Octavia, Madi, and Murphy worked in the smokehouse. "Let's get this party smoking." Del said as he walked in, he added wood to the fire. "You don't want the fire too big. So maybe just try to knock it down with some wet leaves." Octavia said. "You get that from your boyfriend, Grounder pounder?" Del asked he turned to Madi, "Grounder." He snarled. "Those are very creative nicknames." Madi said. "They're right. A hot fire is not gonna preserve the meat as well." Murphy chimed in. "You can't take the heat, get out of the smokehouse. Should be kissing our asses for being allowed back in this camp. Just keep working." Del said and left. "Your brother couldn't get you a better job? Would think anything would be better than working in the meat furnace." Murphy said. "Oh, probably. That just means someone else would have to do it." Octavia replied. 

Finn walked into the bullet tent where Raven was working. "What's for dinner?" Finn asked. "Split loads, turning one bullet into two. It's all I can do until we get more gunpowder. Jasper has a recipe. Yesterday I saw him taking buckets from the latrine. I didn't ask." Raven replied. "Is one of those for me?" Finn asked, looking at the bullets with a smile. "Maybe. Still deciding." Raven replied. "I keep wanting to apologize again." Finn said. "You don't have to. We're good. I got to get this done." Raven said, going back to her work. "That's bad." Finn said. "What?" Raven asked. "When you're really pissed off, you always find a project, something to keep your hands busy so you don't punch someone in the face." Finn replied. "I'm not keeping busy, Finn. I'm keeping us alive." Raven said. "Yeah. You're right. That was a dumb thing to say. See you later." Finn said and started to leave, Raven stopped him, "Wait. We're good. We're good. We are. I just want you to be happy." Raven said. "Whoa! Guys! Fire!" They heard yelling from outside. Raven and Finn ran out of the tent to see the smokehouse on fire. 

Bellamy helped Octavia out of the smokehouse and Madi helped Murphy. "Are you okay?" Bellamy asked Octavia. Octavia coughed and nodded, responding to his question. "This is all your fault! We told you it was too much wood." Murphy yelled and ran towards Del, Madi stepped in front of him and stopped him, "Murphy! You can't attack him for being an arrogant asshole!" Madi yelled. Murphy backed down. "Well, now what the hell are we gonna do? That was all the food." Octavia said.

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Bellamy sat in the charred remains of the smokehouse, Clarke walked over. "Any idea what happened?" Clarke asked. "Murphy says that Del kept feeding the fire, mostly because Octavia and Madi told him it was a bad idea." Bellamy replied. "And we believe Murphy?" Clarke asked. "I do. And Madi agreed with him." Bellamy said. "We have some wild onions and nuts in the dropship. It's only enough to last us maybe one or two weeks. What's left here?" Clarke asked. "Nothing. It all burned." Bellamy said and stood up. "Then we have to hunt. Anyone we can spare goes out." Clarke said and tried to walk away, but Bellamy stopped her. "With the whole Grounder army out there?" He asked. "Look. We can't defend ourselves if we're starving." Clarke replied. 

Bellamy called out to hunters who were filling through the dropship, "Each group takes someone with a gun, and they're for killing Grounders, not food. We don't have the ammo. Use the spears for hunting. Get what you can. Be back by nightfall. No one stays out after dark." Bellamy commanded. Bellamy walked out of the dropship and Clarke walked to grab a bag, Myles stopped her, "Hey Clarke. You alone? You maybe want to go together?" Myles asked. "Sure. I'll get some gear." Clarke replied. She walked to the spear rack and Finn came up beside her, "You ready to go?" Finn asked. "I don't think so." Clarke replied and grabbed a spear. "Come on. I'm a good tracker. You're lousy with a spear, but you're sneaky. We make a good team." Finn argued. Myles walked up to them, "Hey, partner, we're wasting daylight. Oh, Finn, you're joining the band?" Myles asked. "Sure." Finn replied. "Awesome. Haven't really got a chance to hang with you guys much. Hey, do you even know how I got arrested on the Ark?" Myles asked as they walked out of the dropship. "I'm dying to hear about it." Finn said. Raven watched Finn and Clarke leave together.

Raven stuffed things into her bag, getting ready to leave. Bellamy and Madi walked in, "We need more ammo." Bellamy said. Raven handed Bellamy three bullets, "That's it till Jasper gets back. Now get out of my tent." Raven demanded. "Where are you going?" Madi asked. "The hell out of here." Raven replied and stood up. "No way." Bellamy said. "Don't go." Madi added. "And what makes you think you can tell me what to do?" Raven asked. "I'm not, I'm asking you to think this trough. Is leaving really the best idea right now, like I get that you don't want to see Finn, but getting yourself killed? I don't think that'll solve all your problems." Madi replied. "She's right. Don't be an idiot. You go alone, and you're dead or worse." Bellamy said. "So what's your plan, sit here until you run out of bullets?" Raven asked Bellamy. "Yeah. Or until you come up with something better. Come on, Raven. You came down here in a pod you rebuilt yourself. You made a bomb out of a tin can. What else you got in that head of yours?" Bellamy asked. "Radios. We can't defend ourselves if we can't communicate. If we can build radios, walkie-talkies- Then we can fight as a team. We'd have a chance, at least." Raven said. "Walkie-talkie?" Madi asked with confusion. Raven rolled her eyes, "Let's go." Raven said and lead Madi out of the tent.

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Kane stumbled through the Ark looking for survivors. "Anybody there? Hello?" Kane asked. Kane walked up to a cabinet and found a flashlight and an axe. "Fifty-six bottles of beer on the wall - fifty-six bottles of beer -" A voice sang. "Hello?" Kane asked again. "Take one down and pass it around - Fifty-five bottles of beer on the wall - fifty-five bottles of beer on the wall." The voice kept singing. Kane started walking down the hall to the voice, "Hello?" He asked. "Fifty-five bottles of beer - Take one down and pass it around -" The man said. Kane walked over to the man, he had his arm stuck in the door and looked like he was passing out. "Hey, hey, can you hear me?" Kane asked, tapping his face. The man shot awake, "What do you want?" He asked immediately. "Councilor, sir?" He added when he saw Kane. "It's Wick, isn't it, from engineering, Sinclair's apprentice?" Kane asked. "Yeah, yeah. He had me come down here to override the containment codes to keep the doors open. Don't tell him I messed up." Wick pleaded. "Hey. You didn't mess up. We need to get your arm free." Kane said. "Yeah. Let's do that. That sounds like a good idea." Wick replied. "Rrgh! Ah!" Kane yelled as he pulled on the door, Kane let the door go and turned back to Wick, "Did you see anyone else around here?" Kane asked. "No. Heard there was a hull breach in engineering." Wick replied with sweat running down his face. "It was a breach?" Kane asked. Wick nodded, "What the hell happened, anyway?" Wick asked. "We were betrayed. Councilor Sydney, she took the Exodus ship by force. Damage to the Ark was catastrophic." Kane replied. "What a bitch. My mom voted for her." Wick said, kinda to himself, kinda to Kane. "I'm not gonna be able to open these doors without some help. I'll be right back." Kane said, "You can't leave me, man." Wick said. "I won't leave you here." Kane said and walked away, he came back with an axe. Kane slid the axe between the doors and pried them open. "Ah, my God, thank you." Wick said as he pulled his arm out of the doors. Kane pulled Wick up. Wick held his arm as he walked through the now open doors, "I can hear the pumps. I think the vents are working up ahead." Wick said. "Let's go. If you survived, there could be others." Kane replied. They started walking down the corridors. Eventually, they came upon a group of people huddled together.

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Bellamy stood watch on the wall, Madi walked up behind him. "Did you learn something?" Bellamy asked, referring to her going with Raven. "I learned that Raven likes to break stuff." Madi replied. "What are you doing out here?" Bellamy asked. "I wanted to tell you that I forgive you." Madi said. "What?" Bellamy asked with confusion. "For torturing us, I forgive you, Bellamy." Madi said. "I'm a monster." Bellamy replied, the conversation going from lighthearted to dark. "No, you're human. Love, its the most human thing of all, Bellamy, and I know that you aren't in love with Finn, but you do care about him. I would have done the same thing in your shoes." Madi replied. Monty walked out of the dropship and over to Bellamy and Madi, "Raven needs you to take something apart." Monty said. "Off we go then." Madi said and walked away with Monty, laughing at a joke he made.

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Finn knelt, looking at animal tracks. "One of those scaly panther things?" Myles asked while looking at the tracks. "Boar." Finn replied, he got up and started walking. "Good, because that panther meat is nasty, but I could eat a whole boar by myself, no joke. You know what the best part is of the boar? It's gonna sound gross." Myles said. "Myles, quiet for a second. What is it?" Clarke asked Finn who was kneeling at another set of tracks, Myles joined them. "These tracks." Finn said, "They're perfect." Clarke replied. "Too perfect. We're the ones being hunted." Finn realized. Myles stood up and pointed his gun to the trees, looking for movement, "I don't see anything." Myles said, as soon as Myles said that two arrows came out of the trees and shot Myles in the leg and the chest. Myles screamed in agony. "Myles!" Clarke yelled and went to his side. Finn looked around, "Clarke, come on. We got to leave him." Finn said. Clarke followed Finn but a grounder came from behind a tree and hit her over the head with a club. "Ah!" Clarke screamed as she fell to the ground. "Clarke! No." Finn yelled before getting knocked out by another grounder. 

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Kane handed oxygen masks to the survivors while Wick tested the air. "Here. Hey, how's the air in here?" Kane asked. "Crappy." Wick replied and turned the device off. Kane stood up, "I'm gonna check the next few compartments." Kane said. Wick got up after him, "Whoa, hey, are you sure you want to do that? This ship took a lot of damage. You walk through the wrong door, you could be stepping out into space." Wick said. "We need to keep moving. The air in here can turn bad at any time." Kane replied. "At least we're breathing. The CO2 scrubbers down here have kicked back on." Wick said. "They can restart themselves?" Kane asked. "No. The electrical fires blew out a DCDU. Everything is on manual." Wick replied. Kane walked to the air filers and held his hands over them, "Is it getting cooler in here?" Kane asked. Wick put his hand over the filer, "I don't feel it." He said. "Could someone restart the central cooling exchanges on this level?" Kane asked. "No. That runs through the primary board." Wick replied. "Earth monitoring. We need to get these people moving now." Kane said. "Move them where?" Wick asked. "The cooling air is a message. See, I think... I think there's someone alive in Earth monitoring." Kane replied. "The air is a message." Wick said skeptically. "Yeah." Kane replied. "Okay. You have hypoxia, all right? So you're working with about ten percent of your brain." Wick said. "We need to get them moving, now. I am not gonna let these people die here." Kane said.

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Finn and Clarke were dragged into a cabin, then thrown on the floor while a grounder went into another room. "We walked for about three miles after crossing that creek, another two or so before we got to the road." Finn said, before he could continue Clarke cut in, "I don't think it matters, Finn. They didn't blindfold us, which means they don't care what we saw. They're probably gonna kill us." Clarke said. The grounder walked out of the other room and picked Clarke and Finn back up, the grounders threw them onto the ground in the other room. Anya walked through the door to them, Sofi and Tyler stood behind her. A grounder held Finn back as Anya pulled out her sword and cut Clarke's bonds. "What do you want from us?" Clarke asked. A grounder pulled back a curtain, sunlight shown onto a dying girl. "Help her. If she dies, he dies." Anya replied, pointing her sword at Finn. 

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Kane, Wick, and the rest of the survivors walked down the halls trying to get to Earth Monitoring. "Rest in peace, Earth Monitoring." Wick said when they saw a ton of junk blocking their way to Earth Monitoring. "Let's check passageway four." Kane said. "No. We got a jammed pressure door between us and pass, four. And we can't get through here. It's game over, man." Wick replied. "I need to talk to whoever is in there." Kane said. "'Please' would be nice." Wick replied, he walked to the intercom and placed a battery on top of it. "Watch this. Aha." Wick said as he turned the power on the intercom. Wick pulled down the talk lever and started speaking, "Earth Monitoring, do you read?" Wick asked. "We read you. Who is this? Where are you?" Jaha asked, when Kane heard his voice he walked to the intercom, "Sir, it's good to hear your voice." Kane replied. "Of course it's you, Kane. You're too stubborn to die." Jaha said. "I could say the same for you." Kane replied. "What is your situation?" Jaha asked. "We have about a dozen survivors." Kane replied. "That's good work, Councilor. Sinclair is rerouting power and air to the mess hall. Lead your people there." Jaha commanded. "After we get you." Kane said. "No. A fire burned through most of our oxygen. We put it out, but we don't have very long. All-access is blocked. We are reviving as many Ark citizens as we can before our oxygen runs out." Jaha replied. "I won't leave you to die." Kane said. "As your Chancellor, I am ordering you to gather as many survivors as you can and lead them to the mess hall. Jaha out." Jaha commanded. "Lead them to the mess hall, and when you get there, organize a search station by station. Look for survivors." Kane said to Wick before turning to the piles of junk and trying to find the best way to Earth Monitoring. "Let's go to the mess hall. Come on." Wick said to the survivors. Kane pulled on a metal bar and Wick turned back to him, "Hey, the Chancellor is right. We all got to get out of here. This whole deck is an electrical fire waiting to happen." Wick said some sparks shot out of something with power. "That's why you have to lead these people out of here...please." Kane spat. "So, what, you're got to save everybody else but yourself? This is nuts." Wick said. "No one else can die because of me. Go. Go. Get yourselves to safety." Kane commanded. A few more sparks were thrown. Kane started pulling on the metal bar again, but it wasn't enough. Wick joined him, it still wasn't enough. A few of the survivors walked over to help them. "On three." Kane said. They all grabbed the bar. "1...2...3." Kane said, they all strained but the bar came undone.

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"Her name is Tris." Anya said as Clarke looked at the body. "I can't do this. I don't have any equipment." Clarke worried. "We'll provide you with what we can." Anya said and nodded to a grounder who left to get what they had. "Why do you think I can save her?" Clarke asked. "Lincoln told her." Finn realized. "Yes. Our healer is gone. There's nothing we can do for her. For his sake, I hope you can." Anya said, and started to leave. "Clarke, you can do this." Finn said. "Wait. What happened to her?" Clarke asked. Anya stopped in the doorway, "She was on the bridge when your bomb exploded. You did this to her." Anya said and left. Clarke turned to Tris, "How's Madi?" Tyler asked. "She's fine." Clarke replied and focused on Tris.

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Monty and Madi sat at the Black Box for the Exduos ship, trying to understand what they were hearing. Raven walked in, "I found some good antenna wire for the radios. This guy was using it to fix his bed. You find anything else from the Exodus ship wreckage?" She asked. "Yeah, data log. Want to hear something weird?" Monty asked, Raven looked intrigued and Madi moved so Raven could really listen. Monty played the data log, at first it was static then it became a different kind of quivering signal. "Sounds like interference." Raven said. "Wait. It gets weirder. When the signal hit, their nav system went nuts. They never got it back, and then...boom. It's like something was jamming the signal." Monty said. "Bet you it was the Mountain Men." Madi said. "Mountain Men? Sounds like something to scare children with." Raven replied. "It's not." Madi replied. "Whatever, pull the drive-in speakers." Raven said to Monty. "You want to strip it? We'll never find out where they crashed." Monty said. "We need every component we can get our hands on if we're gonna make walkies...and I need the radio." Raven said and started walking towards it, Monty stopped her. "No way. How are we supposed to contact the Ark?" Monty asked. Raven switched the radio on, only to hear static, "The Ark is not there. You're listening to a hole in the sky." Raven said. "That was insensitive." Madi said. "My family is up there." Monty said. "I'm sorry." Raven said and disconnected the radio. Madi started to leave, "Where are you going?" Raven called after her, "To my tent, you know where to find me if you need me." Madi said and left.

Raven walked out of the dropship a while after Madi, noticing a flow of people coming into camp, she walked to Murphy who was gutting fish, "The hunters are back? Is Finn with them?" Raven asked. "I don't think so. Hey, relax. I'm sure Clarke is keeping him out of trouble." Murphy said. Raven walked away. 

Raven walked into Madi and Octavia's tent, Madi was sitting at the table with her feet on it and drawing in a sketchbook. "What are you doing here?" Madi asked. "They don't waste time. I'll get them that. What's it been, a day and a half?" Raven said. "You're angry." Madi replied. "So what are you doing here?" Madi asked, continuing to sketch. "Moving on." Raven said and took off her jacket, "Put your jacket back on and sit down, Raven." Madi said. Raven reluctantly sat down across from her, "I understand that you've lost a lot and it hurts that Finn was able to move on so quickly, but this isn't the answer. Having sex with someone else won't make you feel better, you're angry and you aren't thinking straight." Madi said. "I didn't come here for a morality lesson." Raven said and went to leave. "I know, so sit down and have a drink." Madi said and put a bottle of whiskey and two cups on the table. Raven took the glass and downed the whiskey.

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A grounder placed a bag of tools on the floor in front of Clarke, Finn stood at Tris's side, "She's getting worse." He said. "Help me lift her up." Clarke said they moved Tris into a seated position. Clarke put her ear to Tris's back, "She's not moving any air on the left. There's fluid pressing on her lungs." Clarke realized. "I don't see an entry wound." Finn said. Clarke laid Tris back down, "No. It wasn't shrapnel. It was trauma. The force of the explosion, it hit her in the chest. She's drowning in her own blood." Clarke said and went to the toolset, "She can't breathe. I have to relieve the pressure." Clarke grabbed a scalpel and put it over a flame, "I need a small tube, something rigid the size of my finger." Clarke said to the grounder. Finn looked around, the grounder looked behind him and found a tube, he handed it to Finn, "Here." He said. "Thanks." Finn replied. "Fifth intercostal space." Clarke said to herself, she lifted up Tris's shirt. Clarke plunged the scalpel into Tris's soft skin. "This better work." Clarke said and put the tube into Tris's lung. Blood started to flow out of the tube, "You're okay. Attagirl. Breathe." Clarke said. Anya walked into the room, "What have you done?" Anya asked. Anya walked to Tris, "No. You don't understand. She couldn't breathe." Clarke said Anya shoved her to the ground. Finn ran to Clarke but was stopped by a grounder, "Back off!" He yelled. The grounder flipped Finn, putting him on his ass. 

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Most of the people in Earth Monitoring were passed out from lack of oxygen. Kane pulled the door open and walked in, the other survivors flowed in behind him, "Everybody gets oxygen now." Kane said, he opened a box of oxygen masks and people started distributing them. Kane noticed Jaha, he grabbed a masked and walked to him, "Sir. Sir, are you alright?" Kane asked. Jaha regained consciousness, he pulled the mask off, "I gave you an order. You're bound by law to follow." Jaha said. "The people in this room are our best chance to save the Ark. Besides, a wise man once told me I needed to learn when not to follow the law." Kane replied. "Heh heh. A wise man...Thank you." Jaha said. Jaha stood up with Kane's help, "So, what do we do now?" Jaha asked.

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Clarke and Finn stood in the corner, "She's breathing a little better, but even if we can save her, what happens then?" Clarke asked. "Then maybe we don't die today." Finn replied. Anya stood at Tris's side and placed a hand on her head, "She's hot." Anya said. Clarke walked over and checked her heart rate, "Her heart rate is way up. She's probably septic." Clarke said. "What does that mean?" Anya asked. Finn rushed to the tool bag looking for something to help. "It means her blood is poisoned." Clarke replied. "What about this stuff?" Finn asked and held up a vial. "That slows bleeding." Caliban said. Clarke walked to the bag, "Coagulant. No. Lincoln had that same stuff at the dropship." Clarke replied. "I don't see any antibiotics." Finn said. "She needs real medicine. How could you send a little girl into battle? What is wrong with you people?" Clarke asked and stood up. "She was with me. She was my second. It's how we train them to be warriors." Anya replied. "Oh, so the killing can just go on and on." Clarke said. "Clarke--" Finn was interrupted. Anya walked around the table to Clarke, "You put the bomb on the bridge. You did this to her." Anya said. Tris started coughing and gasping for air, "She needs clean blood." Clarke said and went back to the bag, "Transfusion?" Finn asked. "Okay. There's no tubing. So we need a syringe, the biggest one you can find, and I need a cannula. It's like a hollow needle." Clarke said.

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Raven and Madi had sat and drunk for a while, "We have work to do." Raven said. "Lead the way." Madi replied.

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"Any word yet on casualties?" Jaha asked. "No. Sinclair still has teams out assessing the damage, but whole stations may have been lost. I estimate no more than 1,000 survivors at least 1,500 dead." Kane replied. Wick walked over, "Hey, guys, I found something." Wick said. "I'm sorry sir. Mr. Wick has trouble with protocol." Sinclair added and walked with Wick. "What did you find?" Jaha asked. "Data from the Exodus launch. The monitor says that service hatch beta was manually sealed before the launch from our side." Wick replied. "There was someone in the service bay." Kane said. "But there are survivors? People jumped ship at the last moment?" Jaha asked. "Maybe Sydney threw them off. Maybe they were a threat. Could they still be alive in the service bay?" Kane asked. "Well, sir, if they hunkered down and got lucky, yeah, they could still be ticking, but they won't be for long." Wick replied. "Well, how do we get to them? How can we get to them?" Kane asked. "We could try the maintenance shaft. It's sealed on both sides, so you'd have pressurization." Wick said. "And it's pressed right up against the fuel pods. Without power to the coolant system, it'll be hot as hell in there." Sinclair added. "I have to try." Kane said and walked to the maintenance shaft.

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Finn sat on the floor, sharpening a needle with the ground. "It's as sharp as it's gonna get." Finn said and handed Clarke the needle. "All right. Thanks." Clarke said she placed the needle into a syringe, "Bleach." Clarke said. Finn squirted a liquid onto the needle, "Guess there's no moonshine." Finn said, jokingly. Clarke stood up and turned to Anya, "Okay. I'm gonna need your blood." Clarke said. Clarke took a step towards Anya and her guard stepped in front of her, "No." He said. "You're from the same clan. It's the best match we're gonna get." Clarke argued. Anya's guard still said no, "You can have mine." Sofi volunteered and rolled up her sleeve. Clarke walked to her and injected the needle, she took Sofi's blood and walked back to Tris. Finn held the syringe of blood, "I can't find a vein. She's clamping down. She's lost too much blood." Clarke said desperately. "Clarke-" Finn was interrupted by Clarke. "Oh, come on." Clarke said. "She's not breathing." Finn said. Clarke stopped and looked at a dead Tris, Clarke, and Finn backed up. Anya went to Tris's side, she took out a knife, "Yu gonplei ste odon" Anya said and chopped off Tris's braid. Anya walked away and nodded to Tyler, he walked to Tris and picked her up, carrying her out of the room. Anya walked after Tyler and stopped at the door, "Take him away and kill him." She said. "No. No. No. No! No. No." Clarke said as she tried to pull Finn away from the grounders, Clarke was held back, "Please! No! I did everything I could." Clarke argued. Finn held onto the doorframe, "Clarke, stop. They'll hurt you." Finn said as he was dragged away. "No. Get off." Clarke sobbed as she struggled. 

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Kane and Wick reached the maintenance shaft, "Hey. You'll need this battery to open up the door to the bay. Good? Yeah?" Wick asked. He pulled the cover off the maintenance shaft, Wick stuck his head into the shaft, "It's not that hot. Sinclair doesn't know what he's talking about. It's a little warm." Wick said. "So, you're not gonna talk me out of going?" Kane asked. "Nope. When you die, can I have your shoes?" Wick asked. "They're much too stylish for you." Kane replied. Kane went headfirst into the burning hot maintenance shaft and started to climb through it.

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Raven and Madi sat a desk, they had just finished the radios. "You finished the walkies." Monty said when he walked in. "Hey...I'm sorry about before, really, and about your family." Raven said. "Thanks. So all the hunters are back except Clarke and Finn." Monty replied. "Okay." Raven said. "Raven, they were with another kid--Myles. They all left camp together." Monty said. "All three of them are still out there?" Raven asked. "Yeah. We're going to look for them. Bring the walkies." Monty replied. 

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Kane got to the end of the maintenance shaft and pulled the door open. He climbed into the normal Ark and looked through the glass doors leading to the service hatch and saw Abby and a few others passed out on the floor. Kane rushed to a control panel and pulled out the battery Wick had given him, he plugged it in and the door opened. People started waking up as the door opened and they were given oxygen. Abby wasn't yet awake and Kane rushed to her side, "Come on. Hey hey, wake up. Hey, Abby? Abby, wake up." Kane said. Kane sat down next to her and let her rest her head on his shoulder. "It's so hot." Abby said.

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"Why'd you do it?" Clarke asked Sofi as she sat on the floor, "Do what?" Sofi replied. "Offer your blood." Clarke said. "It's what Madi would've done." Sofi replied. Tyler walked back into the room and he left with Sofi. Clarke now sat on the floor across from Anya's grounder guard, "Anya will take no pleasure in your friend's death. Prove your worth, and you'll be welcome here." The grounder said. "I couldn't save Tris. Why would you want me?" Clarke asked. "We told you. Our healer is gone." The grounder replied and stood up, Clarke stood up and walked to the table where Tris died. "Will I be able to go back to see them my friends, my home?" Clarke asked, she silently grabbed a scalpel from the table. "Tomorrow there'll be nothing to go back to." The grounder replied. Clarke turned back to the grounder, "Those marks on her shoulder, what were they? Lincoln has them, too." Clarke said. "Each scar marks a kill in combat." He replied. "Five kills? She was a little girl." Clarke said. "She was brave." He countered. "How many do you have?" Clarke asked, he unstrung his armor and pulled down his shirt. The grounder had maybe 15 kill marks. "That's a lot." Clarke said. "And half were after I hurt my knee." He replied. Clarke kicked out his knee, just like Madi taught her, and slashed his throat. When the grounder began to call out Clarke covered his mouth, "Shh shh shh shh shh." Clarke said. Clarke ran out of the building and through the forest.

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Raven, Octavia, and Madi trekked through the forest with Bellamy to their side, "Where are they?" Raven asked. "We'll find them." Octavia said. "You have to keep your movements quieter." Madi said to Octavia. "I thought you said you were heading west. Where are you?" Monty asked over the radio. "Just keep the moon to your left, and you'll find us." Bellamy replied. "This morning, all I could think about was how much easier this would all be if Finn was just...gone." Raven said. "You didn't wish this into being, Raven. Stop torturing yourself." Octavia replied. Madi bent down and looked at the track on the ground then kept moving. "Is anyone else hearing this signal?" Monty asked over the radio. "Just keep your eyes open." Raven replied. "I think it's the same thing we heard in the black box." Monty said. "Damn it, Monty, pay attention. Do you see anything? Report." Bellamy asked over the radio. "Oh, my God." Monty said a screech was heard over the radio. Madi saw it first, the movement in the bushes, and pointed it out to Octavia. "Uh...There's someone in the bushes." Raven said. Madi went ahead of Raven and Octavia with a dagger in hand, she pushed the bushes away and held a knife to the throat of..."Myles?" Madi asked. Raven bent down next to Madi, "Myles, what happened? Where are they? Clarke and Finn, where are they?" Raven asked. "Grounders took them." Myles replied. "Take it easy. We have to get him back to camp." Bellamy said. "Bell, what about Clarke and Finn?" Octavia asked. Raven got up and turned away, "Raven, I'm sorry." Bellamy said. "What do you think happened to them?" Myles asked Madi. "They're probably dead." Madi replied somberly. Raven needed anything else to focus on, "We need to make a stretcher." She said and went to get materials. "Monty, we're heading home. You copy? Monty, can you hear me? Monty, Monty where the hell are you? Report." Bellamy said into the radio, everyone started to worry when Monty didn't reply.

Monty's radio had been dropped on the forest floor with him nowhere to be found.

Clarke ran through the forest, trying to reach the camp before the grounder caught up with her. Clarke ran right into a trap and was caught hanging by her ankle in the trees. 


	13. We Are Grounders (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Finn escape one dangerous situation only to find themselves faced with a new enemy. Bellamy and Madi make heroic moves to save Jasper. Raven faces a new danger and Murphy finally gets his revenge. Meanwhile, those remaining on the Ark are coming to terms with the inevitable.

Jaha sat at the council table across from Kane and in front of the station reps of the Ark. "Every simulation has been run. Every system modification has been made. The hard and simple fact is that in 51 hours, life on the Ark will no longer be possible. I choose to find consolation in one remarkable truth. The surviving members of the 100 have proven themselves to be more resilient than we could've ever imagined. Our legacy will go on, and for that... I am not only grateful... but I am proud." Jaha said. "So what do we tell our constituents to do now? What do we do now?" A woman asked. "Look inside. Find your peace. In the meantime, I'm releasing all available resources to the surviving citizens of the Ark. There will be no more rationing. What we have belongs to all of us." Jaha said and banged his gavel. The station reps started to leave but Abby was frozen, "Are you all right, Abby?" Jaha asked. Abby snapped out of her daze, "Yes. I have a patient. She was hurt in the bomb blast. I need to go." Abby said and walked out. When Abby was gone Kane turned to Jaha, "Sir, is it wise to waste rations when we don't know for sure?" Kane asked. "But we do know for sure." Jaha replied. "Well, I can't just do nothing. I have to find a solution." Kane said and stood up as to leave, Jaha stood up after him, "Hey, I know this is hard to accept, but if you'd like to spend your remaining time rerunning simulations, by all means, you can do that. I, however, will be spending my time with family and a bottle of 97-year-old scotch." Jaha said.

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It was nighttime on the ground, people were rushing about, throwing up defenses and other stuff. Madi and Octavia sat against a tree while Raven and Jasper worked on more landmines, "What are your tattoo's for?" Octavia asked. "Okay...um," Madi took her jacket off and showed Octavia the first tattoo she got, it was on her left wrist and read MT. W, "It's for the Mountain Men." Madi said, then to the next tattoo on her right forearm, "Trikru's symbol, I got it for my father, he was Trikru before he came to my clan." Madi explained, then to the one on her left forearm, "Podakru's symbol, for the clan leader before me." Madi said. Madi showed Octavia her right wrist, "S&M for Sofi and Mogan." Madi added. "I have a hanging moon for my brother on my back, stars on my abdomen, tribal tattoo for my grandmother on my right shoulder, a blue jay on my lower back for my late wife." Madi said. Madi then pointed to her mid-right forearm, "And half the commander's cog, Lexa has the other half." Madi said with a smile. Bellamy walked over to Raven, Jasper, Madi, and Octavia, "Better hope those landmines work. All the gunpowder we're wasting, we could be making more grenades." Bellamy said. "You want to come over here and test one?" Raven asked. "Cute. I need this entire section mined by morning. Then you finish the south field." Bellamy said and started to walk away. Everyone stood up, looking concerned, Raven went after him, "Hey... I told you, we're going after Finn, Clarke, and Monty in the morning." Raven said. Madi and Octavia started walking after them. "And I told you, nobody leaves this camp." Bellamy replied. "I'm talking to you. We can't just abandon our people. You want to lead them, show them you give a damn." Raven replied, walking after him. A gunshot was heard, "Whoa! What the hell was that?" Someone yelled. Bellamy saw the boy responsible, he walked to him, "Hey... What the hell is the matter with you?" Bellamy asked. "I'm sorry, man. I fell asleep. I've been on watch all day." The boy replied Bellamy picked him up by his collar and pushed him against a tree, "We've all been on watch all day! That bullet was one less dead grounder." Bellamy said. "Bellamy!" Madi yelled, "Put him down!" She demanded. Bellamy reluctantly complied and dropped him, "Bell, you're scaring people." Octavia said. "They should be scared! The bomb on the bridge bought us some time to prepare, but that time is up! The grounders are out there right now, waiting for us to leave and picking us off one by one when we do! Clarke, Finn, and Monty are gone, probably dead, and if you want to be next, I can't stop you, but no guns are leaving this camp! This camp is the only thing keeping us alive! Get back to work!" Bellamy yelled to the group. He walked away, Madi went after him, "Bellamy, you need to calm down." Madi said. "Or what?" Bellamy asked. "Your people are frightened, dehydrated, hungry, exhausted, and you yelling at them isn't making it better. If you want any chance at surviving they need to believe in you, they need to be willing to die for you." Madi said. "Like Clarke did?" Bellamy asked. "I won't believe that Clarke's dead until I see a body. You need to remember what you're fighting for Bellamy, then remind them why they need to fight, what they have to live for." Madi replied. "Do you think we'll win?" Bellamy asked. "It doesn't matter what I think, it matters what they think. You have to convince them that you can win, not me." Madi said.

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Anya sat at the fire, Clarke sat a ways away from her and there were sleeping grounders all around them. They heard a twig snap and a bird fly, "Your left flank is vulnerable." Tristain said, coming out of the trees. "My archers are in the trees with orders to kill anyone hostile. You're not hostile, are you, Tristan?" Anya asked. Tristan walked to Clarke, "So this is who's beating you?" Tristan asked. "Who are you?" Clarke asked. "I'm the man sent to slaughter your people." Tristan replied. "The commander sent you?" Anya asked. "Your unit is mine now. My rangers are hungry and at the river. Go feed them. We march on the invaders' camp at first light. I'll make quick work of what you failed to do, starting with this one." Tristan replied. Grounder started making their way to the river to feed Tristan's rangers. Tristan pulled out his knife and went towards Clarke, "Anya, look! Over there." Someone yelled. Anya and Tristan saw a signal fire on the mountain, "A signal fire." Anya said. "Reapers." Tristan realized. "Let them know we see it." Anya commanded a grounder lit their fire. "Kill the prisoner. Get to the river." Tristan commanded and mounted his horse. A grounder with skulls covering his face walked to Anya, "Is the boy dead?" Anya asked. "Mm-hmm." The grounder replied with a nod. "Good. Kill the girl, then catch up." Anya said and left. Clarke looked truly distraught over Finn's death. 

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Bellamy and Madi stood in front of a model of the dropship, "This is a horrible plan, Bellamy." Madi said. Jasper walked in, he looked at Bellamy and Madi with dislike. "Don't you think I want to go after them, too?" Bellamy asked Jasper. "If it was you out there, you think Monty, Clarke, or Finn would hide behind these walls?" Jasper asked. "No. They'd go after me. Then they'd be dead, too. I am doing what I think is right for the group." Bellamy replied. "It's funny, you didn't think that way when Octavia went missing." Jasper said and walked past Bellamy. Jasper put his gun down, "Where are you going?" Bellamy asked. Jasper squared his shoulders to Bellamy, "More gunpowder for your minefield... sir." Jasper said and walked up the ladder. Madi stood up, "Water... please." Myles moaned from his bed. Madi and Bellamy turned to him, "We'll get you some." Madi said, they left the dropship. Murphy saw Madi and Bellamy leave the dropship, talking about how to defend their new home. Murphy walked into what he thought was an empty dropship, he walked to Myles, "Water." Myles begged. Murphy looked down at Myles and grabbed a piece of flexible plastic, he started to suffocate Myles with it. Myles's screams were muffled, "This is for tying the noose that they hung me with. Say hi to Connor for me." Murphy said. Myles stopped moving, he was dead. The container of gunpowder Jasper was holding hit the ladder, he had watched Murphy kill Myles, "He stopped breathing. I was... I was trying to help him." Murphy said, throwing the plastic off of Myles. Jasper gave him a quick nod and slowly climbed down the ladder, eyeing the gun. Murphy rushed and grabbed the gun before Jasper could, he pointed the gun at Jasper. "Murphy, just put the gun down." Jasper said. "He tried to kill me." Murphy tried to justify. Jasper took a step back, Murphy pointed the gun at his head, "Hey, don't move." Murphy commanded. "Ok. Ok. It's cool." Jasper said. "No, it's not. You know what'll happen to me if you tell Bellamy." Murphy replied. "Tell Bellamy what?" Bellamy asked over the radio. Murphy's eyes traveled to Jaspers's pocket where he held the radio, "Give me the radio, Jasper." Murphy said. Jasper slowly pulled the radio out of his pocket, hi quickly put it to his mouth, "Murphy has a gun. He killed Myles." Jasper said. Murphy knocked Jasper out with the butt of his gun. "Murphy, what the hell are you doing?" Bellamy asked over the radio. Murphy walked to the dropship door and pulled the lever to close it. "Murphy! Murphy! Open the damn door!" He heard Bellamy yell from outside. Murphy picked up the radio, "You try to be a hero, Jasper dies." Murphy said.

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Clarke rode in front of the grounder, they eventually reached a fire. The grounder got down and pulled Clarke down after him, he took off Clarke's restraints. The grounder turned Clarke around, "Finn. Oh, my God. Oh, my God." Clarke ran and hugged him, "I don't understand how--" Finn nodded to the grounder and Lincoln took off his mask, revealing his face. "Lincoln saved my life. He killed one of his own people to do it." Finn said. Clarke walked to Lincoln, "Signal fire? That was you?" Clarke asked. "We needed a distraction." Lincoln said. "I'd say it worked." Finn replied. "Not well enough." Lincoln replied, looking at the forest now empty of fires. "What's it mean?" Finn asked. "It means Anya knows Clarke is not dead. We need to hurry. Let's hope they follow the horse." Lincoln said. Lincoln let the horse run. "Hey, what do we do now?" Finn asked. "Now we run." Lincoln said and started running. 

They ran through the dark forest, "Come on. It's right up here." Lincoln said. "What is?" Finn asked. "Someplace they won't follow." Lincoln replied. They reached a cave opening, "Oh, wait. Where does it lead?" Clarke asked. "Everywhere. There's a tunnel to your camp. If we make it through, we should get there before Tristan." Lincoln said he saw riders coming through the trees, "Go. Go!" Lincoln yelled. Clarke and Finn ran into the tunnel. Anya rode in on her horse, Lincoln ran into the tunnels, Anya ran to the entrance and fired arrows after him, "Lincoln!" Anya yelled. "Anya, no. We know where they're going... If the mine doesn't kill them first. Go. Come on!" Tristan commanded and rode away, Anya mounted her horse and rode after him. 

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Abby and Jackson were performing surgery on a young girl, "Abby, BP is dropping down to 96 over 55. Never should've opened her back up." Jackson said as Abby worked to save the girl. "It was the only way to save her." Abby replied. "Save her for what? She'll be dead in two days. We all will. She's crashing." Jackson said. The heart monitor showed her heart had stopped. Abby turned to Jackson, "Another amp of epi. Starting CPR." Abby said and started CPR. Jackson walked to the cabinet, "We can't give her any more epi, Abby." Jackson said. "Rationing is over. Now get me the damn epinephrine." Abby demanded. "There is no more epinephrine. We're all out." Jackson said and walked back to Abby. Abby continued CPR, "Come on. Come on. Breathe." Abby begged Jackson turned off the heart monitor, "You have to let her go." Jackson said. Abby stopped CPR and backed up, she held her head in her bloody hands. "I failed. I failed." Abby said. "You did the best that you could. You always do." Jackson replied. Jackson pulled the sheet over the girls face, "She's gonna hate me forever. She blames me for her father's death. I'll never get to make that right now... Never get to hug her. I can't protect her anymore." Abby realized. Jackson walked to her, "Clarke doesn't hate you, Abby. She's just... she's just strong-willed... like her mom. You gave her that. That's how you're protecting her, and that's what will keep her alive on the ground." Jackson said, "Thank you, Jackson." Abby said and hugged him. "Now get out of here. Go on." Abby pushed. 

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Octavia ran to Bellamy and Madi who were discussing how to get Jasper out. "I just heard Murphy has Jasper." Octavia said. "Yeah. South foxhole all done?" Bellamy asked. Madi stared at the door to the dropship. "What? Bellamy, my friend's in there with a killer." Octavia said. "O, look around. No one's working. If the grounders attack us right now, we're all dead." Bellamy said. Madi turned her head back to them, "They'll attack at night." Madi said. Octavia ignored her, "Murphy! Murphy, if you even touch Jasper, I swear to God, you're dead." Octavia yelled at the door. "Octavia, we got this." Bellamy said, looking at Madi. "Really? Because it doesn't look like either of you are doing anything about it." Octavia replied. Raven walked up to them, "You were right. There's a loose panel on the back. If I can pop it, we can get in through the floor." Raven said. "Do it." Bellamy commanded. "Sorry." Octavia said. Madi took a radio from a kid, "Murphy, I know you can hear me." Madi took a deep breath, "It's, my fault that you were hung, I knew you didn't do it and I didn't say anything because I wanted to see how the situation would play out, I know that it was wrong and I'm sorry." Madi said. "I don't care." Murphy replied over the radio, "I wasn't done, Murphy. I'll offer you a deal, release Jasper and take me." Madi offered. "What the hell are you doing?" Bellamy asked. "Buying time." Madi replied. "He'll kill you." Octavia said. "He'll try." Madi replied she put the radio back to her mouth, "Just let Jasper go and take me." Madi said. "How?" Murphy asked over the radio. "Open the door, I walk in, he walks out. Deal?" Madi asked. "I want you, and Bellamy, unarmed." Murphy said. "Deal." Bellamy agreed. Murphy opened the door, Madi took off her jacket which was full of different knives. Bellamy handed someone his gun and Octavia his axe. "10 seconds, or I'll put one in Jasper's leg. One..." Murphy started counting. "Raven will find a way to get you out." Octavia said. "I don't doubt it. Be careful, Octavia." Madi said and walked to the door. "We'll be fine. Get everyone back to work. The grounders are still coming." Bellamy said and walked to the door. "We're here." Bellamy said. "4... 5..." Murphy counted. Madi and Bellamy walked into the dropship, Jasper came stumbling out of the dropship with a gag in his mouth and his hands bound. 

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Lincoln slowly lit a fire in the Reaper tunnels. "You were right. They didn't follow us." Finn said. "Reapers use these tunnels. Tristan wouldn't risk running into them." Lincoln replied. "What the hell's a reaper?" Finn asked. "Pray you never find out. We have to keep moving." Lincoln said, he lit a torch and stood up, stumbling. "Lincoln, you're hit." Finn said, looking at the arrow sticking out of Lincoln's back. "Hey, let me look at that." Clarke said. Finn took the torch from Lincoln. "I've fought battles with worse wounds than this." Lincoln said. "We're not in a battle right now." Clarke replied. "Yes, we are." Lincoln said. "Why are you helping us?" Clarke asked. "This can't just be about Octavia." Finn added. Lincoln was silent. "Fine. Don't tell us. Give me your knife." Clarke commanded. Lincoln gave Clarke his knife, she handed it to Finn, "Heat the blade." Clarke said. Clarke turned back to Lincoln, "You might want something to bite down on." Clarke said. Lincoln scoffed, "You people are so soft. If you don't learn to be more... aah!" Lincoln yelled as Clarke pushed the arrow through his chest. Lincoln broke off the head of the arrow. Clarke looked at Lincoln sincerely, "What my people are doing to yours is wrong." Lincoln said.

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Raven pulled a loose panel off the dropship. She and Jasper climbed inside, they could hear muffled voices above them. "Cool." Raven said. "Stop thinking like a mechanic and find me something to shoot through." Jasper said. "Well, this mechanic's gonna hotwire the door." Raven replied. "There's the hatch." Jasper said and walked to it, "Locks from above. Forget it." Raven said. "Damn it. They're up there because of me." Jasper said. Raven sushed him, "Help me find the door circuit." Raven whispered. "We lost Clarke. We can't lose Bellamy, too." Jasper worried. "Jasper, shut up. They are, like, right above your head." Raven replied. "Good. I'll have to shoot through the floor. I just need to figure out where Murphy is." Jasper realized. "Bad idea." Raven said. Raven looked up at the hydrazine pipe and tapped it, they could hear fluid sloshing around, "Holy crap. There's tons of it." Raven said. "The engines fired late on the way down. We can make more bombs." Jasper replied. "Yeah. Put that on our to-do list. But from now on, no shooting, you got me?" Raven asked. The heard gunshots above them.

"That's good." Murphy said. Madi and Bellamy stood a few feet away from him with their hands up. "Bellamy? Madi? Are you ok?" Octavia asked over the radio. "You want her to know you're alive?" Murphy asked Bellamy, "Start tying, both of you." Murphy commanded. "Do you copy?" Octavia asked. Madi and Bellamy started tying, Muphy held the radio for Bellamy, "I'm fine. Just a misfire. Now stop worrying about me and get back to work, all of you... And tell Raven to hurry her ass up." Bellamy said. Murphy turned the radio off, "All right, that's long enough. Tie those two ends together." He told both of them. "All right. Now get up and toss it over. Both of you." Murphy said. "Are you fucking crazy?" Madi asked. "Do it, or I'll put one in Bellamy's head." Murphy said. Madi stood up and threw her noose over a pipe, Bellamy followed suit. "What do you want me to say? You want me to apologize? I'm... I'm sorry." Bellamy apologized. "You got it all wrong, Bellamy. I don't want you to say anything. I want you to feel what I felt, and then... Then I want you to die." Murphy replied.

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Jaha sat watching old home videos and drinking scotch. "What are you two doing over there? Come on. Let's rehearse for the Unity Day pageant." The younger Jaha on the video said. "The stations--" Jaha interrupted his son, "The other stations." Jaha corrected. "The other stations saw this and wanted to be together, too." Wells said. "That's very good." Jaha praised. "When all the stations were joined, they called themselves the Ark." Wells said with a smile. "Good job, Wells." Jaha congratulated. Clarke started clapping for him, "Daddy, how does the Ark stay in space?" Wells asked. "Good question. By keeping out of the Earth's gravitational pull." Jaha answered. "My daddy says it's the thrusters." Clarke inputted. "Well, your daddy's right, Clarke. There are thrusters all over the Ark. Every station has them. They keep us spinning so that we generate our own gravity. They help us stay in orbit and they help us steer." Jaha said. Jaha realized what he had to do to save the Ark.

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Lincoln, Finn, and Clarke stopped so Lincoln could check his map. "Wait. If you never were down here, how'd you map it?" Finn asked. "Spoils of war." Lincoln replied. Clarke heard shouting in the distance, "What is that?" Clarke asked. They heard the shouting again, "Reapers." Lincoln said he grabbed the torch from Lincoln and snubbed it out.

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Bellamy and Madi grabbed stools and put them under the noses, "This really isn't how I thought I'd die." Madi said. "It's not preferable for me either." Bellamy replied. "Quit the chatter. Stand on them, put the rope over your heads." Murphy commanded. Bellamy and Madi stood on their respective stools and looked at the rope, "This is insane. The grounders could--" Bellamy was cut off when Murphy fired a few shots. 

Raven and Jasper worked under the dropship, "We need to do this now." Jasper said. "I'm working as fast as I can. The wires for the door are mixed in with the ignition system. Sparking the wrong one would be bad." Raven said.

"Put it over your head." Murphy commanded. Bellamy and Madi did, "We are so fucked." Madi said. "Happy?" Bellamy asked. "You're so brave, aren't you? I mean, you came in here thinking you're just gonna turn this whole thing around, that you were stronger than me, and maybe one of your friends would come and help you. Well, what are you thinking now, Bellamy? Hmm?" Murphy asked. 

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"This can't be the only way. Check the map." Finn said as they walked towards the reapers. "If you want to get home before Tristan slaughters your people, this is the only way." Lincoln replied. They heard more shouting and hid behind a corner where they watched a group of reapers. "Clarke. The carts." Finn said, they all looked at the carts which held countless bodies. "What the hell is this?" Clarke asked. "The tunnel on the right will lead you through the woods into your camp. Take this." Lincoln said and handed Finn his sketchbook. "What are you gonna do?" Finn asked and put the book in a pocket. "I'm gonna lead them away. Wait until they follow me, then run." Lincoln said, "For Octavia." He added. "Wait a second. If they catch you, they'll kill you." Clarke worried. "Worry about yourselves. Most of Tristan's rangers will be at your gate by nightfall, but he'll send riders ahead, scouts. All of you have to be gone before they arrive." Lincoln said. "One of them's coming." Finn said as he watched the reaper slowly approach them. "Where are we supposed to go?" Clarke asked. "In my book, there's a map. Chart course to the eastern sea. There's a clan there, led by a woman called Luna, a friend. Tell her I sent you." Lincoln replied. "Thank you." Finn said sincerely. "Just get Octavia out of there." Lincoln replied. The reaper turned around and started walking away, Lincoln pulled out a knife and ran after him, loudly slitting the reapers throat then running, allowing the rest of the reapers to run after him. "Let's go." Finn said after the last reaper had run after Lincoln. They started to run, but Clarke stopped to look at the bodies in the containers. "Oh, my God." Clarke said when she pulled back the tarp and looked at their wounds. The grounder Lincoln had attacked walked up behind Clarke, "Clarke, look out!" Finn yelled and pushed her out of the way. The reaper tackled Finn and started choking him, Finn reached for a rock and got it. Finn bashed the rock into the reapers head and kept smashing it against his head until he died. Finn shoved his body off him. They heard shouting, Clarke got up, "They're coming back. Finn, come on. We've got to go. Get up, get up." Clarke said and picked him up.

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"You know, I got to hand it to you, Bellamy. You got 'em all fooled. They actually look up to you, almost as much as they look up to Clarke and Madi of course." He said looking at Madi. "We get it, Bellamy's a coward, get over it." Madi said. "Really?" Bellamy asked. "To see right and not do it, is cowardice, Bellamy, you were a coward when you didn't try for peace, when you couldn't kill Atom, and when you kicked that crate out from under Murphy." Madi said. 

Raven pulled a wire out of the panel, "I think I found it. Get outside. Be ready when it opens." Raven said, and Jasper left. 

"Exactly, but you were just giving the people what they wanted, right?" Murphy asked. "I should have stopped them." Bellamy said. "It's a little late for that now." Murphy replied. "You think they're just gonna let you walk out of here?" Bellamy asked. "Well, I think the princess is dead... but I know the king's about to die, so who's really gonna lead these people, huh? Me, that's who, and, yeah, maybe I'll have to kill your grounder-pounding little sister--" Murphy was cut off when Bellamy tried to kick him. "If you touch Octavia, I will kill you." Madi threatened. 

Raven plugged a wire in and it sparked causing her to scream.

"I'm guessing that's her right now." Murphy said, hearing the scream. "Murphy-", "No!" Bellamy yelled cutting Madi off. Murphy fired a few shots into the floor. The gun misfired, Bellamy and Madi tried to pull the ropes from over their heads. Murphy quickly kicked the stools out from under them both. Bellamy and Madi had different ways of solving the issue of being hanged, Bellamy grabbed the rope around his neck, "Using your hands is a cheat. Mine were bound, remember?" Murphy said and pulled Bellamy's hands away from him. Madi saw that the rope was tied to the ladder and how far it was from the roof. Madi grabbed the rope and pulled herself to the pipe that the ropes were around, "What the hell are you doing?" Murphy asked and walked towards her, Madi let go of the pipe and hit Murphy with full force and broke the pipe freeing both her and Bellamy, they gasped for air. 

"Raven, you did it!" Jasper yelled as the dropship door opened.

Murphy quickly collected himself and climbed upstairs. 

Madi crawled to Bellamy and pulled the rope from his neck as Jasper walked into the dropship with his gun raised. "He's upstairs." Madi said raspily and pulled the noose from her neck. Octavia rushed into the dropship, looking at Bellamy who was still collecting himself, "You're ok." She said with relief. Bellamy slowly got up and Madi got up with him. "Murphy! Murphy! It's over! Murphy! There's only one way out of this for you now!" Bellamy yelled, he climbed up the ladder and shoved his weight into the door, trying to get through. "You want to bet?" Murphy asked.

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"This doesn't look right." Finn said, he looked at Lincoln's journal and noticed his hands were stained with blood. "I swear to God, the more we learn about this place, the less we know." Clarke said, looking back at where they came from. She heard water splashing behind her and turned to see Finn furiously washing his hands in a puddle. "Hey, hey, hey. He would have killed us. You did what you had to do. We all have." Clarke said. After a pause, Finn finally spoke, "I should have fought for you." He said. Clarke looked down, "Finn, don't." Clarke said. "Clarke. I love you. I'm in love with you." Finn said. It took Clarke a while to reply, "You broke my heart. I'm sorry. I--I just can't." Clarke said. They heard an explosion in the distance, "It came from the camp." Finn said. "We're too late." Clarke realized and they started running towards camp.

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Bellamy was able to bust through the steel pipe Murphy had used to close the door, only to find a hole in the side of the dropship Murphy had escaped through, Jasper joined him. "The guy knows how to make an exit. Should we go after him?" Jasper asked as they watched Murphy ran from camp. "No. Grounders will take care of Murphy. We're going after Clarke, Finn, and Monty. You and Raven were right. We don't abandon our own. Two guns... you and me. That's it. Raven stays here to build up defenses. We lost a day because of this, and our gunpowder." Bellamy said and walked to the hatch, "Bellamy, wait. Look, I just..." Jasper hugged him, "Thank you. Long way from 'whatever the hell you want.'" Jasper joked. "All gunners! We got movement outside the south wall!" Miller yelled over the radio. Bellamy, Madi, Jasper, and Octavia ran out of the dropship to the south wall. "Someone's coming! Get ready! Stay together!" Harper yelled as she held her gun up. "Wait! Hold your fire! Clarke and Finn! Open the gate!" Miller yelled. Two people pulled the gate open. Clarke and Finn ran into camp, "We heard an explosion. What happened?" Clarke asked. "Murphy happened." Bellamy replied. "Thank God! Where have you been? Where's Monty?" Jasper asked. "Monty's gone?" Clarke asked. "Clarke, we need to leave, now. All of us do. There's an army of grounders, unlike anything we've ever seen, coming for us right now. We need to pack what we can and run." Finn said. "Like hell we do. We knew this was coming." Bellamy replied. "Bellamy, you have no strategy." Madi said. "We aren't prepared." Octavia added. "And they're not here yet. We still have time to get ready. Besides, where would we go? Where would we be safer than behind these walls?" Bellamy asked. "There's an ocean to the east. People there will help us." Finn said. "Luna?" Madi asked in disbelief. "Yes." Finn replied. "Luna won't help you, it's too much of a risk." Madi said. "We have to try." Clarke said. "You expect us to trust a grounder?" Bellamy asked. "I'm done with this 'grounder' bullshit. You know what, Bellamy, you're on the ground, you're a grounder too." Madi said. "You're right, we are grounders and this is our home now. We built this from nothing with our bare hands! Our dead are buried behind that wall in this ground! Our ground! I say let 'em come!" Bellamy yelled. "Bellamy's right. If we leave, we may never find a place as safe as this. And God knows, in this world, we could be faced with something even worse tomorrow. But that doesn't change the simple fact that if we stay here, we will die tonight. So pack your things. Just take what you can carry, now." Clarke commanded and the group dispersed. Octavia walked to Finn, "Where is he?" Octavia asked. Raven grabbed held her stomach and limped into the camp, "Raven!" Madi yelled and ran to her, "Raven!" Finn yelled and ran to them. Madi picked her up and brought her into the dropship and Finn followed them. Clarke tried to follow them and Bellamy stopped her, "Clarke, leaving here is a mistake." Bellamy said. "The decision's been made." Clarke replied. "Crowds make bad decisions. Just ask Murphy. Leaders do what they think is right." Bellamy said. "I am." Clarke replied and walked into the dropship.

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"What if we jettison sections 3 through 7?" Kane asked looking at the simulations. "Sir, we've run every scenario twice. There are no more options. I would really like to be with my wife--" Sinclair was cut off by a door opening. "Chancellor on deck." Sinclair said, straightening up. "At ease, Sinclair. Anything to report?" Jaha asked. "No, sir. Nothing we've tried will save the Ark." Kane replied. "Have you tried not saving it?" Jaha asked. "What is this about?" Abby asked. "It's about going home. From where I stand, we have two options--die in space or probably die trying to get to the ground." Jaha said. "We have no more Exodus ships, sir." Kane said. "You're wrong, Kane. There is one. We call it the Ark. Sinclair, please tell us what would happen if we use the thrusters that keep the Ark in orbit to propel us into the atmosphere instead." Jaha asked. "The Ark would break apart, first into its original 12 stations, then further as the violence intensified. 95% of the structures would explode on the way down." Sinclair said. "You think you're smart enough to pinpoint the 5% that wouldn't?" Jaha asked and handed Sinclair a schematic for the Ark. "Are we really gonna do this? Bring the Ark to the ground?" Kane asked. "Have a better idea? What do you say, Abby? You ready to see your daughter again?" Jaha asked.


	14. We Are Grounders (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke pleads with Bellamy to do the right thing as conflict on the ground comes to a head. Bellamy forces Octavia to make a difficult decision. Madi is pulled in many different directions. Raven and Jasper work against time and Finn makes a bold move. Meanwhile, the situation on the Ark comes to a stunning conclusion.

Everyone herd Raven screams as the hot metal was pushed into her flesh. "That should stop the external bleeding." Clarke said and set the knife down. "I don't understand. How did Murphy get a gun?" Finn asked. "Long story." Bellamy replied. "Not really." Madi said. "We got lucky. If Murphy hit the fuel tank instead of me, we'd all be dead." Raven said. "Wait, there's rocket fuel down there? Enough to build a bomb?" Clarke asked. "Enough to build 100 bombs... if we had any gunpowder left." Raven replied. "Let's get back to the reapers. Maybe they'll help us. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?" Bellamy asked. Madi chuckled, everyone looked at her, "Oh, you're serious. Bellamy, the reapers aren't even men, they're monsters." Madi said. "There's no time for this." Finn said, "Can she walk or not?" He asked. "No. We have to carry her." Clarke replied. Raven looked applauded, "The hell you will. I'm good to go." Raven said. "Hey, listen to me. That bullet is still inside you. If by some miracle, there's no internal bleeding, it might hold until we get somewhere safe. But you are not walking there. Is that clear?" Clarke asked. Raven nodded, "I'll get the stretcher." Finn said and started walking out of the dropship, "Can't run away fast enough, huh? Real brave." Bellamy said, stopping him. "Dying in a fight you can't win isn't brave, Bellamy, it's stupid." Finn said. "You'll die either way." Madi said. "All right, that's enough. It's time to go." Clarke stepped in before they could start arguing again. "If they follow? It's a 120-mile walk to the ocean." Bellamy said. "Look, we're wasting time. If he wants to stay, he can stay." Finn said and left. "No, he can't. We can't do this without you, Bellamy." Clarke said. "What do you want me to say, Clarke?" Bellamy asked. "I want you to say that you're with us. Those kids out there, they listen to you." Clarke replied. "They're lining up to go. They listen to you more." Bellamy said. "I gave them an easy choice. But 5 minutes ago, they were willing to fight and die for you. You inspire them. I'm afraid we're gonna need that again before this day is through." Clarke said and left. Bellamy walked out after her, "Are you coming with us?" Raven asked Madi. "No." Madi said. "But you'll be okay, Raven." Madi added. "How do you know?" Raven asked, he worry starting to shine through, "Because I know you, Raven, you're a fighter." Madi said with a smile and left.

Madi walked into her and Octavia's tent where Octavia was packing. Madi grabbed her stuff and pulled a wrapped package out of her bag, she placed it on the table. "What is it?" Octavia asked. "I was going to give it to the commander, but I think you'll need it more." Madi said she unwrapped the sword and let Octavia pick it up. "It's amazing." Octavia said. "Good luck, Octavia." Madi said. Octavia put the sword down and hugged her, "Thank you." Octavia said. "Of course." Madi replied. 

Bellamy watched as people kept packing their things away, Madi walked to him, "I still think this is a bad idea." Bellamy said. "I know, but you have to trust that Clarke knows what she's doing." Madi said. "It's not that I don't trust Clarke, I just think we're safer here." Bellamy said. "This isn't a great place to defend, Bellamy." Madi replied. "We'll be completely exposed." Bellamy said. "Yeah." Madi replied. "Yeah?" Bellamy asked, "That's all you've got?" Bellamy added. "I'm sorry I can't help you, Bellamy." Madi said. "What are you gonna do?" Bellamy asked. "Wait for Tristan's soldiers, then I'll probably go home or end up in Polis." Madi said. "Goodbye, Madi." Bellamy said and extended his hand, "We'll see each other again." Madi said and shook his hand in a warrior's handshake. 

Clarke found Madi, sitting against the dropship and watching as people passed by. "Hey." Clarke said. "Hey, Clarke." Madi replied. Clarke sat down next to her, "Your second, Sofi, she wanted me to give you this." Clarke said and handed Madi a letter. "Thank you." Madi said. "You've saved our lives so many times, I feel like you're one of us now." Clarke said. "It's a nice sentiment, Clarke, but I still can't come with you." Madi replied. "I know. I just want to say thank you, for everything." Clarke said. Madi stood up and Clarke joined her. "Try not to die, Clarke." Madi said. "I'll try." Clarke replied they hugged. "May we meet again." Clarke said. "May we meet again." Madi replied and walked away.

Two guards went out the gate first, Madi watched them from the dropship ramp. Everyone had left but Madi, Clarke, and Bellamy. Clarke walked to Bellamy, "You did good here, Bellamy." Clarke said. "18 dead." Bellamy said. "82 alive. You did good." Clarke replied. Bellamy grabbed a bucket of water and put the last fire out. Madi smiled and watched them leave.

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They had been walking through the forest for a while, "You know the first thing I'm gonna do when we get to the beach?" Miller asked. "No. What?" Donald asked. "I want to go surfing." Miller said. "Quiet. Keep your eyes open." Jasper said. "No more woods. A view of the ocean. No more damn trees, just pale, blue water." Miller said. Octavia stopped the group. "What is it?" Jasper asked. "Why are we stopping?" Raven asked. "I don't know." Finn replied. "I don't see anything." Jasper said. A shuriken came flying from the trees and hit Donald in the face, killing him. "Grounders!" Jasper yelled and people started running back to camp. 

Bellamy showed people into camp, Madi ran out of the dropship, with a sword stepped to her back a knife in her hand. Jasper ran onto the wall, "I don't see anyone!" Jasper yelled. "They're right behind us! Go, go, go!" Octavia yelled back. "Shut the gate! Shut the gate!" Finn yelled, they shut the gate, Madi, Clarke, and Bellamy stood on the wall. "Where are they? Why aren't they attacking?" Bellamy asked. "Because the army isn't here, I told you they won't attack till nightfall." Madi said. "Lincoln said the scouts would be the first to arrive." Clarke added. "Exactly." Madi said. "If it's just scouts, we can fight our way out." Octavia argued. "I agree with Octavia. For all we know, there's one scout out there." Finn agreed. "One scout with insanely good aim." Jasper interrupted. "Clarke, we can still do this." Octavia tried to persuade. "Look, Tristan is a stupid general, but he isn't stupid enough to send only one scout. Even if you fought your way through them, Tristan's army would already be here." Madi argued. "If we're still here when Tristan gets here-" Finn was interrupted. "Tristan's already here, it's you choice Clarke, fight or die." Madi said. Clarke looked at Madi then a Bellamy, "You've got your fight." Clarke said. "Ok, then. This is what we've been preparing for. Kill them before they kill us. Gunners, to your posts. Use the tunnels to get in and out. From now on, the gate stays closed." Bellamy ordered. Delinquents started rushing to tunnels, Octavia went to follow, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're not a gunner." Bellamy said. "No, I'm not. Like Madi said... I'm a grounder." Octavia said and rushed into a tunnel. 

Bellamy, Raven, Madi, Clarke, and Finn sat in the dropship. "We've got 25 rifles with 20 rounds each, give or take. Roughly 500 rounds of ammo. While you two were gone, we made some improvements. Thanks to Raven, the gully is mined." Bellamy said. "That won't be enough, your people couldn't shoot a dear from two feet away." Madi replied. "And the gully is partially mined. Thanks to Murphy." Raven added. "Still, it's the main route in. If the grounders use it, we'll know. Raven also built grenades." Bellamy said. "It's not many." Clarke said, looking at the grenades. "Again, thank you, Murphy." Raven said. "We'll make them count. If the grounders make it through the front gate, guns and grenades should force them back." Bellamy said. Madi scoffed. "And then?" Clarke asked. "Then we close the door and pray." Raven said. "Pray?" Madi asked in disbelief. "Then let's not let them get through the gate." Bellamy said, he put the radio to his mouth, "All foxholes, listen up. Keep your eyes and ears open. Inflict casualties, as many as possible. You can hold them off long enough to make them turn back. That's the plan." Bellamy said and put the radio down. "They won't turn back Bellamy. Tristan is notorious for getting hundreds of people killed in battle when there is an easier way to fight." Madi explained. "You got a better idea?" Bellamy asked. "It can't be that simple. You said there's fuel in those rockets, right? Enough to build 100 bombs." Clarke said to Raven. "I also said we've got no gunpowder left." Raven replied. "I don't want to build a bomb. I want to blast off." Clarke said. "Draw them in close. Fire the rockets. A ring of fire." Raven said. "It's smart, I'll give you that." Madi said. "Will it work?" Finn asked. "You give me enough time, I'll cook them real good." Raven replied. 

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Station reps stood in front of the screens with simulations. Sinclair started explaining their plan, "Here's how we bring the Ark to the ground. Stage one: Separation from go-sci. Series of explosions sever the ring that we're now standing in from the rest of the Ark. Now, once we have separation, all port thrusters will fire and our orbit will begin to degrade. Stage 2: Reentry. Reentry will be violent and it will be very, very hot. Friction will break the Ark back into its original stations." Sinclair said. "Some of the stations... and we can't predict which... will explode." Kane said. Station reps started worrying among themselves. "And some of us will be on those stations." Kane added. "Which brings us to stage 3... landing. All starboard thrusters on the surviving stations will fire. Acting as landing rockets, they will slow the impact even further. Now, our target speed for impact with the ground is 70 miles per hour. In all my simulations, anything above that is not survivable." Sinclair said. There was a long pause where the station reps were whispering to each other, Jaha turned around, "No one said that this will be easy, ladies and gentlemen. Just that if we don't try it... we all die." Jaha said. "So, how close are we gonna land to the kids?" Abby asked. "As close as we can." Jaha replied.

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Clarke and Finn were roaming around the very bottom level of the dropship, trying to help Raven who was sitting above them with Madi. "Finn, do you see it over there?" Clarke asked. "No." Finn replied. "Raven, we can't find the ignition system. Raven?" Clarke asked when Raven didn't reply. "I can't feel my legs." Raven said. "Ok, hold on. We're coming." Clarke said Madi helped Raven sit up straight. "Ok, let me see." Clarke said. Madi lifted up the back of Raven's shirt, there was a huge spot of rising on Raven's lower back, Raven looked at Clarke and Madi's faces. "That bad, huh?" Raven asked. Madi helped lower Raven back onto leaning against the crate, "Raven. The bullet's in your spine. You're bleeding internally." Clarke said. "We better do this fast then, huh? Get back down there." Raven said. Clarke went to get up but Finn stopped her, "What if we can slow the bleeding? Would that help?" Finn asked. "Well, of course, it would help. Can you tell me how to do that?" Clarke asked. "That stuff the grounders had... coagulant. You said that Lincoln had some, too. Madi, do you have any?" Finn asked. "In my bag? No. I have a knife and fire-starting tools, that's the extent of my first aid kit." Madi said. "Lincoln has some, I'm betting that there's more of it in his cave. If I can get there-" Raven interrupted Finn, "Wait a second. No." Raven said. "I can make it." Finn said. "Clarke, tell him he's being an idiot." Raven said. "Raven." Finn said. "What? I'm not gonna let you die to save me." Raven replied. "You're the only one who can fire those rockets. If you die, we all die. I'll be right back." Finn said and left. Clarke went after him, "Finn, wait. Wait." Clarke said as she went after him. Madi walked to her bag and grabbed the bottle of whiskey they had started drinking from, "You need this more than I do." Madi said and handed her the bottle before sitting down next to her. "Lying here on my deathbed I've realized that I don't know much about you." Raven said after a pause. "What do you want to know?" Madi asked. "What's your favorite color." Raven asked. "Random, but...uh...Bule." Madi said. "Blue? Like Clarke's eyes?" Raven asked. "No...Like a lake at midnight." Madi replied. "That's not blue." Raven said. "Doesn't mean it isn't beautiful." Madi said and drank some of the whiskey.

Clarke caught up with Finn, "Clarke, I need to do this." Finn said. "I can't lose you again." Clarke said. "You won't." Finn assured. 

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"Mecha Station, good to go." Someone said over the P.A. "Orchid Station, good to go." A woman said over the P.A. "Flint Station, good to go." A man said over the P.A. "Hydro Station is good to go." A different woman said over the P.A. "Aero Station, good to go." Another man said over the P.A. Jaha sat in his station, "Chancellor Jaha, all stations are prepared for launch." Sinclair informed. "In peace... may you leave this shore. In love... may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels. Until our final journey to the ground... may we meet again." Jaha said everyone in every station repeated this sentiment, "May we meet again." They said. "Sinclair." Jaha addressed, they were in different stations, "Yes, sir." Sinclair replied. "Take us home." Jaha said. "Taking us home, sir. Initiate go-sci separation... In 5... 4... 3... 2... 1. Separate." Sinclair said nothing happened when he pressed the remote destination button. People looked around with confusion. "Sir, remote detonations failed. We are negative for go-sci separation, negative for launch." Sinclair said. "Can you fix it?" Jaha asked. "Not from here, sir, no. Someone will have to launch manually." Sinclair replied. 

Kane attempted to stand up but Abby stopped him, "What are you doing?" Abby asked. "Someone has to stay behind, Abby." Kane said. "There has to be another way." Abby replied. "I can go back and reprogram the system, but it'll take time. We'll miss the window for the eastern United States. We won't land anywhere near the Hundred." Sinclair chimed in. "Then we'll wait till it comes back around again." Abby said. "The Ark will be out of air by then." Sinclair replied. "Salvation... comes at a price." Kane said and stood up he started walking away with people shaking his hands along the way. "How much air will he have?" Abby asked Sinclair. "A week. Two weeks at most." Sinclair said. The Ark shook as though it had just been hit by an earthquake and the thrusters fired. Sinclair checked his tablet, "We're away. We've launched." Sinclair said. "How?" Abby asked. "Godspeed, my friends. Godspeed." Jaha said over the P.A. "Thelonious, where are you?" Abby asked. "Right where I'm supposed to be. Hold on tight, Abby. You'll see your daughter soon." Jaha said.

After the Ark was away Jaha sat down and removed his earbud. "And I'll see my son." Jaha said.

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It was nighttime, they heard the grounders war drums. Bellamy ran to the wall and set up his gun, "Where's Octavia?" Bellamy asked. "She left 5 minutes ago. Didn't say where to. She thinks she's a damn samurai." Miller replied. "You see anything?" Bellamy asked. "No. What the hell are they waiting for?" Monroe asked. "The longer they wait, the better. This is about buying time for Raven." Bellamy said. "I see them. They're moving! I count two, 3, no, wait, there's more. I don't know, man. There's too many of them." Sterling said over the radio, they heard lots of gunfire. "Who was that?" Bellamy asked, grabbing his radio. "Sterling, I think. South foxhole." Miller replied. Bellamy put the radio to his mouth, "South foxhole, report now." Bellamy said into the radio. "Yeah, yeah. We're ok. They didn't attack. It's like-it's like shooting at ghosts." Sterling replied over the radio. Monroe saw a few grounders run outside the wall, "There! I see them!" Monroe yelled and started shooting. Miller started shooting as well, "Stop! Stop. Hold your fire! Hold your fire! Reload. Now." Bellamy commanded. "Those were our last clips." Miller replied. "We should--we should fall back." Monroe suggested. "No. If this position falls, they'll walk right to the front door." Bellamy replied.

"I don't see anyone. They're too fast." They heard a man say over the radio. Clarke looked at it for a second before getting back to work. "I hit... I hit them. I think I hit them." Someone else said. "Do you see it or don't you?" Raven asked. "No. It's a mess down here." Clarke replied. "It'll be orange. Look harder! You have to find the wire that connects the manual override to the electromagnet. It's not rocket science." Raven said. "It is rocket science, actually." Clarke replied, Madi chuckled. "Guess we finally found something you're not good at. I used to be picked first for everything. Earth skills, zero-g mech course. First... every time. So, how the hell did I end up here?" Raven asked. "I think we'd both pick you first, Raven." Madi said. "Of course you would. I'm awesome." Raven replied. "Hey, I found it. Orange wire." Clarke said. "About time! Now follow that wire to the override panel." Raven said. Clarke followed the wire and found it cut, fired. "Raven? It's fried. Totally useless. Tell me this isn't as bad as I think." Clarke said. "You know how to splice a wire?" Raven asked. "No." Clarke replied. "Then it's worse." Raven said, she tried to move but was in immediate pain. "Hey, Raven, calm down." Madi said. "Just talk me through it." Clarke said. "They're everywhere! Harper, get down! We need backup! Raven, our mines actually worked!" Jasper yelled over the radio. "Jasper can splice." Raven realized. "Jasper, we need you in the dropship right now." Clarke said into the radio. "Negative. We can't give up the west woods." Bellamy said over the radio. "The west woods are mined, Bellamy. The grounders just figured that out. Jasper, get in here." Clarke demanded.

Harper and Jasper watched for grounders, "I see one! There! There!" Harper yelled and started firing. "They're drawing our fire." Jasper realized. Harper ran out of bullets, "Damn it. I'm all out." Harper said. "They want us to run out of ammo. All gunners, listen up. The grounders are not attacking. They're making us waste bullets. Don't shoot when they're running laterally." Jasper said into the radio. "Jasper's right. Don't fire until you're sure it's attack. Repeat, do not fire until you are sure." Bellamy said. 

"West foxhole is pulling back." Jasper said over the radio. Tristan listened to Jasper and Bellamy over the radio. He walked to Murphy and stabbed hin in the leg, Murphy screamed in pain, "That's for not telling us about the minefield." Tristan said and pulled the knife out. "What do we do now?" Anya asked. "Now we attack." Tristan replied. 

Grounders came at them from all sides, "Here they come!" Miller yelled. "Fall back!" Monroe yelled as the grounders overwhelmed them, Miller and Monroe ran. Bellamy was tackled to the ground by a grounder, "Bellamy!" Miller yelled and went back for him. The grounder stabbed Miller in the shoulder and started chocking Bellamy, Octavia stabbed the grounder through the head with the sword Madi had given her. "Admit it. You want one." Octavia said, referring to the sword. Bellamy got up as arrows fly from their side, Octavia was hit in the back. "You're hit!" Bellamy said and grabbed Octavia before she could fall over. "Miller, fall back, now. Can you walk?" He asked Octavia. Octavia nodded, and stumbled a bit, "O. Hey. Hold on to me. Let me get you behind that wall." Bellamy said and picked her up.

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Finn ran into the cave, searching for coagulant. Lincoln came up behind him, Finn turned around, "Lincoln. You're alive." Finn said with a kind of relief. "I told you to leave." Lincoln replied. "We tried. The scouts were already there." Finn said. " I'm out of ammo!" Bellamy yelled over the radio. "What is that?" Lincoln asked. Finn took the radio out of his pocket, "Requesting backup, now! Sterling. Sterling, do you copy?" Bellamy asked over the radio. "Why are you not there?" Lincoln asked. "Raven was shot. We need medicine to slow the bleeding." Finn replied. "You came to save one life?" Lincoln asked with anger. "I don't have time to explain. Do you have the medicine or not?" Finn asked. "I have it." Lincoln said, he grabbed the medicine. "I see them. I saw... no, stand your gr... if they take the gate, we're all dead." Bellamy said over the radio. Lincoln threw Finn the medicine, "I'm going with you. Let's go." Lincoln demanded. Finn went to follow him but nearly tripped over a few drawings over reapers, "Wait! The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Finn said. Lincoln walked back into the cave, "Finn, let's move!" Lincoln yelled. "How far did the reapers chase you?" Finn asked. "They'd still be chasing me if I didn't lose them. Why?" Lincoln asked. "I have a really bad idea." Finn replied. 

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Raven let her head rest on Madi's shoulder, "Hey, Raven, tell us again how this is gonna work." Clarke said. "Oh dear god." Madi complained. "Told you 5 times. Current flows to the electromagnet. That opens the poppet valve. Rockets fire." Raven said. "Ok. Got the good wire ready to graft on. What's next?" Jasper asked. "Raven?" Madi asked, trying to wake her up. "Raven! Clarke!" Madi called. Clarke came up the ladder, "Clarke?" Madi asked. "Not yet. But soon." Clarke said. "They've broken through! There's hundreds of them! They're heading for the gate! Game over, man!" Someone yelled over the radio. "Finish it." Clarke said to Jasper. "Current to the magnet to the valve to barbecue. Current to the magnet to the valve to barbecue." Jasper repeated as he climbed down the ladder. Clarke and Madi walked onto the dropship ramp, "There are too many! Everybody to dropship now!" Miller yelled, "No! We need more time. Gunners, stay at your posts. The rest of you, inside. Come on, move." Clarke yelled back. They all watched as an object entered the Earth's atmosphere and started to burn up, "Is that from the Ark?" Fox asked. "That is the Ark." Clarke replied. 

"Reinforcements." Anya said as they ducked behind a small hill. "When they get here, they won't find anyone alive. Takedown the gate!" Tristan yelled. They heard distant shouting, Lincoln and Finn came running trough the learning and ran another direction, the reapers ran into the clearing and looked at the grounder, they attacked. 

Finn came running through a tunnel and ran to Clarke, "What did you do?" Clarke asked after they hugged. "I kicked the hornet's nest." Finn replied. "Reapers." Madi said with a smile. "I just bought us some time. How's Raven?" Finn asked. "She's not good. And the rockets aren't ready yet. Jasper's working on them now." Clarke replied. "Jasper? What's plan B?" Finn asked. "Jasper was plan B." Clarke replied. "I have an idea." Madi said after a pause. "What?" Clarke asked. "Clarke, promise me that you'll let me try this, that you won't fire the rockets unless I lose." Madi said. "Lose?" Clarke asked. "Just trust me." Madi replied.

Bellamy was carrying Octavia and found the grounder fighting the reapers, "What the hell is that?" Octavia asked. "I don't know, but they're distracted. Let's move." Bellamy said. "We'll never make it. Leave me. I'll find another way." Octavia replied. "I'm not going anywhere without you." Bellamy said. Lincoln came up behind Bellamy and knelt down next to them, "Octavia." Lincoln said. "Lincoln?" Octavia asked. "You did this?" Bellamy asked. "With Finn." Lincoln replied he looked the wound in Octavia's leg, "It's deep. I can help you, but you have to come with me now." Lincoln said. "Go. Let him help." Bellamy said. "No way. I have to see this through." Octavia replied. "You can't walk and I can't get you back to the dropship." Bellamy said. "He's right. This fight is over for you." Lincoln added. "O, O, listen to me. I told you my life ended the day you were born. The truth is... it didn't start until then. Go with him. I need you to live. Besides... I got this." Bellamy said. Octavia hugged him, "I love you, big brother." Octavia said and let him go, "May we meet again." Bellamy said. "May we meet again." Octavia repeated. Lincoln and Bellamy picked her up, Lincoln carried her bridal style, "Keep her safe." Bellamy said, Lincoln nodded and ran with Octavia in his arms.

The grounders finished killing the reapers, "Now to the wall!" Tristan yelled. 

Clarke injected Raven with the medicine Finn had grabbed. 

Grounders started scaling the wall, "Clarke, they're taking down the gate." Miller said. "Good. Because I did it... I think." Jasper said. "Clarke, just trust me." Madi said and ran out of the dropship. Tristan's army pulled down the gate, "Tristan!" Madi yelled getting his attention. "Order your men to retreat." Madi said. Delinquents ran for the dropship and stopped trying to attack the grounders. Tristan's men also stopped attacking but not before Miller was shot with an arrow. "Blood must have blood!" Tristan yelled at Madi. "Blood has paid blood! Trikru lost what? 30 men? Skikru lost 326!" Madi yelled. "I have my orders." Tristan said. "I think the commander would agree with me... I challenge you to single combat for the lives of Skikru." Madi challenged. Anya tried to stop him but Tristan replied, "Deal, I win I kill the Sky people, you win they live, for now." Tristan said. By now a group of Skikru had come out of the dropship to see what was going on. "Deal." Madi agreed. Some of the Skikru had fled because they thought the fire was coming. Tristan walked through the gate and across from Madi, Madi bowed her head, "Have mercy on my soul." Madi whispered and unsheathed her sword. Tristan and Madi got into fighting positions, Tristan attacked first, coming at Madi swiftly and attacking her upper right. Madi blocked the attack and swung behind Tristan. Tristan quickly turned around and attacked her again, with Madi blocking the attack then launching one of her own, Madi sent a few sword strikes his way, eventually, he left an opening, Madi slammed his chest with her shoulder, knocking him off balance. She then put her sword through his upper right leg. By now it was pouring outside. Tristan fell to one knee, Madi brought her sword down near his chest but Tristan was able to block it, Madi then used the distraction to knock the sword out of his hand. "Yu gonplei ste odon." Madi said and stabbed her sword through his heart. Madi looked over her shoulder at Anya, "A deals a deal, Anya, you stay the warriors leave." Madi said. Anya signaled for the retreat. The grounders started walking away in defeat. Anya walked into the dropship with Clarke in tow. A delinquent came from the southwest of camp, "Hey, we need some help over here." He said and ran back to the ridge, Madi and Finn rushed to help them. 

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"This is Earth Monitoring Station, Earth Monitoring Station hailing all Ark Stations. Please come in." Jaha's voice came over the radio. "Earth Monitoring Station. Earth Monitoring Station, hailing all Ark survivors. Please come in." Jaha said again. Abby fumbled to the radio and grabbed, talking into it, "Mecha Station is on the ground. Repeat. Mecha Station is on the ground." Abby said over the radio. "Abby, it's so good to hear your voice." Jaha replied. "Yours, too. We made it, Thelonious. Any word from any of the other stations yet?" Abby asked. "No. Just you so far. Can you see any sign of them?" Jaha asked. "Going outside now. Stand by." Abby replied. Abby opened a hatch and climbed onto the top of Mecha Station, she looked around at the lake forests and mountains surrounding them, "Tell me what it's like." Jaha said. "It's... everything I dreamed. So much green. There are trees everywhere. And water. And the air. The air... smells... sweet. It's so beautiful. Thelonious, you should be here." Abby said. Kane came through the hatch, and looked around, eventually, his eyes fell on smoke, "Abby, look." Kane said. "There's smoke in the distance. That might be another station. We'll check it out." Abby said. "You do that. Find the rest of our people, Abby. Find Clarke." Jaha said.

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There were 50 people in the camp, including Anya (who was there to negotiate a treaty for now) and Raven who was dying. Everyone else was helping people who had been lost or injured outside the wall. The 50 people were mostly in the dropship but Anya and Clarke were outside staring at Tristan's body and the bodies of everyone else killed. Red gas canisters flew over the wall, "What the hell?" Jasper asked. "Mountain men." Anya realized. People started coughing and being knocked unconscious. 

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Clarke woke up, in a completely white room with different clothes then she had been wearing and an IV in her arm. Clarke pulled the IV out of the arm and stood up, she noticed the Vincent Van Gogh painting Starry Night on the wall and a security camera watching her. Clarke walked to the door, she saw someone across from her in another room, Monty. "Monty?" Clarke asked, trying to open the door to no avail. Clarke looked at the wall to the right of Monty's room, a huge sign read, 'Mount Weather Quarantine Ward'.


End file.
